CH-3 Rainbow
Summary
| Category | Military Drones |
| Origin country | 🇨🇳 China |
| Manufacturer | CASC |
| First flight | 1 January 2007 |
Technical specifications
| Version: CH-3 |
|---|
All operators
Armament
Missiles payload:
- Air-to-Ground AR-1
Bombs payload:
- Guided Bomb FT-9
Description
The CH-3 Rainbow is a fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) and marketed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The aircraft first flew in 2007. The Pakistani NESCOM Burraq, which carries the Burq missile, may be based on the CH-3 design.
The CH-3 is equipped with a shared data link system that enables it to cooperate operationally with the CH-5 UAV. The aircraft has a payload capacity of 70 kg and is armed with the AR-1 air-to-ground missile and the FT-9 guided bomb.
In active operations, the Nigerian Air Force deployed the CH-3 against the Boko Haram insurgency in 2015. One Nigerian CH-3 crashed in January 2015, and the aircraft were operated infrequently due to poor quality. As of 2023, Nigeria maintained at least one active CH-3, with eight more in delivery in 2020. The Myanmar Air Force produces the CH-3 locally under license, and the Myanmar military utilized the aircraft for counterinsurgency operations in 2015 and 2016 during the Myanmar civil war. Additional export operators include the Algerian Air Force, the Sudanese Air Force, and the Turkmen Air Force.
Main Variants
- CH-3A: A variant of the UCAV operated by the Turkmen Air Force.