<\/p>\n
As the brutal Boko Haram insurgency has entered its 7th year in Nigeria,
\nthe relationship between the government and China has deepened. In many
\nways it is a match of needs.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian military has a pressing need for counter-insurgency (COIN)
\nequipment, such as drones, MRAP vehicles and smart bombs (many of which
\nthe US has been unwilling to provide the government due to human rights
\nconcerns). China is seeking to be a first tier exporter of such modern
\nmilitary systems as well as has a massive domestic demand for oil.
\nThe result has been the export of Chinese weapons, fighters, warships and
\nnow it appears armed drones to Nigeria. On January 25, 2015, a photo
\nappeared on online at Beegeagle’s Blog, appearing to show a CH-3 UCAV
\nwhich crashed upside down near Dumge village in the Mafa District of Borno
\nProvince.<\/p>\n
The two anti-tank missiles on the CH-3’s wings appear to be intact. Borno
\nis the area where much of the Boko Haram violence, including the massacre
\nof 2,000 civilians, occurred in 2015. Currently, the Nigerian military is
\nfighting to hold onto the city of Maiduguri against a Boko Haram
\nonslaught, so it appears likely that the CH-3 in question was flying
\nreconnaissance and fire support missions for the Nigerians when it
\ncrashed.
\nThe CH-3 is a medium UAV built by the China Aerospace Science and
\nTechnology Corporation. This 256km per hour, 630kg drone has a wingspan of
\nabout 8 meters, and the combat version can carry a 100kg payload.<\/p>\n
Judging by photos of the CH-3 during Chinese testing, the missiles would
\nlikely by 45kg AR-1 anti-tank missiles, which are roughly equivalent to
\nthe American Hellfire missile. The CH-3 is also in Pakistani service as
\nthe “Burraq” UCAV.
\nDespite damage to the tricycle landing gear and upper forward fuselage,
\nthis CH-3 appears to have crash landed due to mechanical or control
\ndifficulties. This is in line with most other global UAV combat losses to
\ndate. As the CH-3 has a cruise altitude of 5,000m and a flight ceiling of
\n6,000m, it is unlikely that Boko Haram would have the necessary heavy
\nanti-aircraft weaponry or training to do so.<\/p>\n
Despite this particular CH-3’s inglorious fate, it is a good illustration
\nthat Chinese drones are likely to be flying over Nigeria and many other
\ninsurgencies around the world for time to come.<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared on Popular Science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the brutal Boko Haram insurgency has entered its 7th year in Nigeria, the relationship between the government and China has deepened. In many ways it is a match…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n