Nigeria’s use of China origin CH-3 UCAV confirmed – 75 Strike Group at Yola
Earlier Pictures of the wreckage posted on Twitter show an unmanned combat aerial vehicle that closely resembles the CH-3 drone made by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Missiles fixed to two hardpoints and a sensor payload are all apparent in the images.
Reports place the crash near the village of Dumge in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state.
CH-3 is a fixed wing UCAV of the Rainbow series. CH-3 adopts a usual layout in that it appears to be an scaled downed version of Jetcruzer 450, so CH-3 lacks centrally located vertical tail, but has large winglets and canards. Propulsion is provided by a three-blade propeller driven by a pusher engine mounted on empennage. The main landing wheels of the tricycle landing gear has fairing to reduce drag.
CH-3 was reported to be involved in combat mission in Nigeria against extremist groups. It is believed China supplied CH-3 to Nigeria government prior to 2014, plus YC-200 guided bombs and AR-1 air-to-ground missile