CAIG Wing Loong II

The Chengdu Wing Loong II (), military designation GJ-2, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in the People's Republic of China. Intended for use as a surveillance and aerial reconnaissance and precision strike platform, Chengdu unveiled the concept of Wing Loong II at the Aviation Expo China in Beijing in September 2015. Wing Loong II has long range strike capability with a satellite link.
Development.
The prototype of the Wing Loong II was presented for the first time to the public during the Airshow China exhibition, held in Zhuhai from 1-6 November, 2016.
Design.
Wing Loong II UAV MALE is an enlarged version of Wing Loong I with longer body and wider wing span. It has a slender fuselage, V-tail and ventral fin. The aircraft features retractable landing gear, including two main wheels under the fuselage and one single wheel under the nose. Each wing has three Hardpoints under the wings with capability of carrying bombs, rockets or air-to-surface missiles. A satellite communications antenna is situated on top front surface of the fuselage, offering long range data transmission between the UAV and the ground station.
Operational history.
The Wing Loong II is used by UAE to perform airstrike against the Government of National Accord in Libyan civil war. The GNA received 12 Bayraktar TB2s in two batches between May and July, at least half of them have been destroyed during LNA airstrikes using Wing Loong IIs, the second batch delivered in July was to replace the losses of the first. As June 2020, a total of 6 Wing Loong II have been reported shot down or lost in Libya, all operated by the LNA. Including one allegedly shot down by a laser, if this was true then it was the first time in history that a laser weapon shot down a combat vehicle.
The investigation led by BBC Africa Eye and BBC Arabic Documentaries revealed that the UAE used Wing Loong II drones to fire Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missile at a military academy in Libya's capital, Tripoli, in January 2020, killing 26 unarmed cadets. The drone was operated from Libya's Al-Khadim air base which has been under the control of the UAE.