China’s Sichuan Tengdun Technology Co., Ltd. recently announced its world’s first large-scale cargo drone equipped with four engines, the “Double-tailed Scorpion D”, which will increase the range and capacity of commercial cargo drones.
Sichuan Tengdun Technology was founded in 2016, specializing in the development of large-scale unmanned aerial vehicles.
At present, there are twin-engined version of Twin-tailed Scorpion TB and three-engined version of Type A, which are similar in appearance to the Boeing RQ-21 Blackjack UAV in the United States.
The use of twin tail configuration helps to increase fuel space.
In addition, there are four products including the amphibious version of the Hunjianglong TU and the helicopter configuration of the Feather Arrow HA.
The newly launched twin-tailed Scorpion D model has a fuselage length of 10.5 meters, a wingspan of 20 meters, a height of 3.1 meters, a maximum take-off weight of 4.35 tons, a maximum cargo weight of 1.5 tons, and a loading space of 5 cubic meters.
Although Sichuan Tengdun has not yet released information on the speed and range of the D-type.
But it is estimated to be higher than the 380 km/h and 8,000 km range of the three-engine version of the A type.
Since the company displayed an armed version of the three-engined twin-tailed Scorpion A drone at the Zhuhai Air Show last year, it is expected that the four-engined version of the D-model will soon launch an armed version. The drones are getting more and more important with the new technological advancements. Many countries around the world are paying more attention to build unmanned aircrafts such as Turkey’s unmanned jet MIUS.
