The WZ-7 Soaring Dragon is a high altitude, long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured by China’s Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation. The Soaring Dragon, which serves China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force and People’s Liberation Army Navy, was introduced in 2018. Its primary mission is ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) data collections. The type of ISR data it collects includes imagery intelligence, signals intelligence, measurement and signature intelligence, and communications intelligence. It is also used for real-time targeting. Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation has produced the UAV since 2015 and has built more than 20 of the aircraft.
The WZ-7 features a cylindrical fuselage with a bulbous nose section, a low-mounted, swept-back primary main wing, and a forward-swept secondary main wing that joins the main wing at its midsection. The secondary main wing is mounted to the top of the aircraft’s fuselage at its tail section. The Soaring Dragon uses a V-tail empennage.
The UAV measures 47 feet in length, stands 17 feet, 9 inches tall, and has a wingspan of 81 feet, 7 inches. It is powered by a single rear-mounted turbine engine that produces up to 10,000 pounds of thrust. It has an endurance of ten hours, a range of 4,300 miles, and a service ceiling of 59,000 feet above sea level. It cruises at 450 miles per hour.
