China has developed a distinctive 6-rotor drone made of lightweight carbon fiber to patrol its mountainous western border region, according to the state-run defense technology site 81tech.com.
The drones were built by Kang Ben Company, the fourth of the research institutes operated by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Its body, rotors and undercarriage are made of a lightweight carbon fiber composite, yet it is rugged enough to carry and launch missiles. It is designed for vertical takeoff and landing and hovering in place. It can be programmed to follow a predetermined route or be controlled manually.
Another unique aspect of the drone is its extremely modular construction. For the sake of easy maintenance and easy transportability, it was designed to be assembled and disassembled quickly.
The PLA has been using three of the six-rotor drones to patrol the mountainous border region between Xinjiang and Kazakhstan which is difficult to patrol by soldiers in ground vehicles.
