The Chengdu Xianglong (meaning "Soar Dragon") is a conceptual Chinese Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The first
model of it was unveiled during the Air Show China 2006 by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation ( CAC ). The Xianglong was designed to be a high-altitude, long duration UAV, to perform surveillance and reconnaissance. The size and the design is similar to the American RQ-4 Global Ha
wk. The first flight of the Xianglong took place in December 2009. The Xianglong prototype is the largest joined-wing aircraft currently in existence.
Like on the RQ-4 Global Hawk the engine is mounted on the top of the fuselage. The UAV has a cruise speed of 750 km/h with a maximum range of 7000 km, but the Xianglong don´t possesses global operation capability, while the Global Hawk is able to do that. But the range of 7,000 km is enough to let it operate in the whole Asian and Pacific area.
The UAV has a length of 14.3 meters, a wingspan of 25 meters and a height of 5.4 meters with a maximum take-off weight of 7,500 kg and a mission load of 650 kg.