Armenia Secretly Purchased Chinese CH-4 Rainbow Drones

Armenia has unveiled Chinese CH-4 Rainbow reconnaissance and strike drones for the first time; the purchase of these drones had not previously been officially announced.

A video showing drones was released by the country’s Minister of Defense, Suren Papikyan.

During the parade marking Armenia’s Independence Day, two drones of this type were displayed. They were equipped with AR-1 and AR-2 air-to-surface missiles.

It is known that drones of this type are in service with Algeria, Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

The appearance of such drones in Armenia’s arsenal seems quite unexpected, especially given the country’s current focus on procuring weapons from India, Europe, primarily France, and the United States.

In early February, Armenia received its first American V-BAT reconnaissance drones.

CH-4 Rainbow

Overall, not much is known about the drone; there are two main versions: the reconnaissance A and the multi-purpose B. It is also unknown which version Armenia received.

According to some sources, the drone’s fuselage is 8.5 meters long, and its wingspan is 18 meters.

Its cruising speed is 330 kilometers per hour, and its maximum speed is up to 435 kilometers per hour.

The drone can carry up to 345 kilograms of equipment and weapons.

The drone’s flight range is between 3,500 and 5,000 kilometers; its communication range is effectively unlimited due to the use of a satellite system, and the ground station provides control at a distance of 150 kilometers.

The armament is quite diverse: AR-1 and AR-2 missiles (weight — 20 kilograms, 5-kilogram armor-piercing warhead, inertial guidance system with a semi-active laser homing head in the terminal phase of flight, maximum range — up to 8 kilometers), and the AKD-10 air-to-surface anti-tank missile.

The arsenal also includes the 90-mm BRM-1 guided missile, FT-7 glide bombs weighing 130 kilograms, FT-9/50 aerial bombs weighing 50 kilograms and FT-10/25 aerial bombs weighing 25 kilograms, as well as high-precision guided munitions GB-7/50 and GB-4/100.