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NCSIST Cardinal II UAV

Cardinal is a family of small unmanned aerial vehicles made by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST).

Variants

Cardinal I

The Cardinal I was the initial prototype of the Cardinal. [1]

Cardinal II

The Cardinal II began development in 2009 and is based on the Cardinal I but has a better payload design, digital data link, and automatic tracking antenna system. It was exhibited at the 2015 Paris Air Show. In service with Republic of China Marine Corps [2] and Republic of China Army. [3] Other than military missions the Cardinal II can be used for civil remote sensing and disaster relief missions. [4]

The components of a Cardinal II system are the aircraft, an antenna, and a ground control box. The Cardinal II is hand launched and recovered by parachute. The aircraft is equipped with an autopilot and can transmit data and imagery in real time. [4] The remote control flight range is 8km. [5]

Cardinal III

Cardinal III features vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. It is reportedly optimized for coastal surveillance. [6] It is intended for operation by the Marine Corps. [7] It was displayed at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in 2023. [8]

Fire Cardinal

In 2019 NCSIST exhibited the Fire Cardinal for the first time at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. It was referred to by NCSIST as an "air-to-ground assault" UAV, what is more commonly known as a loitering munition. [9] The Fire Cardinal is a twin-propeller drone about four feet long with a six-foot wingspan. It weighs around 15 pounds and includes an electro-optical and infrared sensor as well as advanced target discrimination systems. [10]

Specifications (Cardinal II)

General characteristics

  • Length: 1.9 [2] m (6 ft 3 in)
  • Wingspan: 1.3 [2] m (4 ft 3 in)
  • Gross weight: 5.5 [2] kg (12 lb)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 55 km/h (34 mph, 30 kn)
  • Range: 50 km (31 mi, 27 nmi)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cardinal Mini Unmanned Aircraft Systems". www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cardinal II Unmanned Aircraft System". www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  3. ^ Ng, JR (August 2019). "Asia-Pacific Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Directory 2018". Asia Military Review: 14–27. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Cardinal II" (PDF). www.ncsist.org.tw. NCSIST. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. ^ Elaine Hou and Kuo Chung-han, Rita Cheng. "New U.S. drone sale policy could be good for Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  6. ^ Cheung, Eric. "Taiwan unveils its new combat and surveillance drones as China threat grows". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. ^ DOMINGUEZ, GABRIEL. "Taking page from Ukraine, Taiwan shows off new killer drones". japantimes.co.jp/. Japan Times. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  8. ^ Kajal, Kapil. "TADTE 2023: NCSIST displays new UASs". janes.com. Janes. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  9. ^ Wong, Kelvin. "TADTE 2019: NCSIST unveils Fire Cardinal mini-UAV". www.janes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. ^ MAKICHUK (22 October 2019). "Taiwan builds lethal fleet of kamikaze drones". www.asiatimes.com. Asia Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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