The Sharp Eye III is an unmanned helicopter system designed and manufactured in China by NORINCO ( China North Industries Corporation). The Sharp Eye III was unveiled for the first time to the public during the Air Show China in 2014. It's a multi-task UAV (Unmanned Aerial System) especially designed for military use.
The Sharp Eye III unmanned helicopter features a two-blade main rotor. It has takeoff weight of 450 kg , with payloads from 50 to 100 kg. It uses tubular landing skids to save weight and volume. The tail rotor consists of two-blade mounted at the rear left of the tail.
Mobility
The Sharp Eye III unmanned helicopter is powered by a Rotax-914UL piston engine at a maximum speed of 180 km/h with an endurance of 4 to 6 hours.
Payloads equipment
The Sharp Eye III unmanned helicopter can be equipped with CCD camera, infrared and laser EO ( Electronic-Optronic) equipment to perform target positioning, fire correction, battlefield situation reconnaissance and damage assessment tasks. This UAV can be also equipped with a laser-illuminator to provide target-illumination for semi-active laser guided weapons. The optic systems is located at the front, under the nose. According some Chinese internet sources, it could be armed with light weapons, like the BRM1 90mm guided rocket.
Combat use
The Sharp Eye III unmanned helicopter has the ability to autonomously take-off from and land on any aviation-capable warship and also at unprepared landing zones close to the forward edge of the battle area. It can perform reconnaissance missions thanks to its day light camera to a maximum range of 5 km or 3 km with a thermal imager. The Sharp Eye III can be fitted with a laser range finder/designator with designation to a maximum range of 5 km. The laser range finder can be used from a distance of 400 m to 8 km. The Sharp Eye III features multiple operation modes with flexible and reliable operations. Its three different control modes include manual auto-stabilization, automatic command control and 3D default route automatic flight control. This UAV is controlled from the groung by a mobile command station mounted on a 4x4 tactical truck.
