China develops FP-985 large piston drone

21 August, 2024 FP-985 large piston drone. Summer 2024, China. Freeze frame from Flyingpan video

China has presented a new FP-985 large drone equipped with a piston engine. Chinese engineers from Flyingpan have successfully used elements of the Soviet design of the An-2 aircraft to create a promising unmanned aircraft. The new large drone is designed in a monoplane configuration (an airplane with one wing).

This distinguishes the design from the Soviet An-2 or the Chinese analog Shifei Y5B, which are biplanes (aircraft with two wings located one above the other). The FP-985 drone also lacks a cockpit for the pilot. The device can only be controlled from the ground.

The manufacturer claims that the drone's maximum takeoff weight is 5700 kg, and the payload is 2000 kg.

It can reach a cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The maximum possible altitude of the aircraft in actual use is 7,500 meters.

FP-985 large piston drone. Summer 2024, China.

Freeze frame from Flyingpan video

At the same time, back in 2018, the People's Republic of China presented an unmanned FP-98 based on the Shifei Y5B aircraft. Chinese experts believe that such aircraft will open up new opportunities in the areas of cargo delivery and search and rescue operations. Like its prototype, the Y-5B, the FH-98 does not require a special runway.

A few hundred meters on a mostly flat surface is enough for it to take off. The developers have equipped the drone with an autopilot and special remote control systems. There is also a program for autonomous takeoff and landing.

FH-98 UAV.

2018, China.

Photo credits: China Aerospace Science and Technology

Previously, in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani military used modified unmanned (the pilot jumps out after takeoff) An-2 aircraft to penetrate Armenian air defense.