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China’s Sunic-Ocean SU-H2M for Maritime Security

Sunic-Ocean System Tech (Sunic-Ocean), a Qingdao-based research and development company specialising in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous flight control systems, has completed development of its SU-H2M vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV, Jane’s has learnt.

The SU-H2M features a 3.81 m-long tadpole-shaped fuselage with a skid undercarriage that carries a two-bladed carbon fibre main rotor with a diameter of 3.2 m. A two-bladed tail rotor is fitted on dorsal and ventral swept vertical tail surfaces towards the rear.

According to specifications provided by Sunic-Ocean, the SU-H2M has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 110 kg and is powered by a water-cooled four-stroke rotary engine rated at 34hp. This configuration enables the air vehicle to carry a 10 litre AV gas fuel tank along with a 35 kg payload.

The air vehicle features a belly mounted payload bay that typically carries an electro-optical sensor pod for surveillance, although it can be replaced by other mission systems when required.

The company is quoting a cruising speed of 60 km/h and an operational ceiling of 9,842 ft with a flight endurance in excess of 3 hours when carrying 20 litres of fuel. When operated with its portable control station, the SU-H2M can be controlled via line of sight (LOS) radio frequency (RF) communications at distances of up to 100 km.

Wang Fucheng, sales manager at Sunic-Ocean, told Jane’s that the air vehicle incorporates a high level of autonomy with automatic take-off and landing, automatic hover, and semi-autonomous route planning via user defined waypoints.