Use of military drones to artificially generate rainfall or snowfall begins in China

China has begun using heavy unmanned military aerial vehicles to cause rainfall or snowfallto save crops from drought or help put out large forest fires.

For artificial summoning of precipitation, special silver iodide cartridges can be used. If the smallest particles of this substance are sprayed in the cloud, snowflakes begin to quickly form on them. A few grams of silver iodide is enough for 10 thousand tons of water to spill out of a medium-sized cloud. Thus, it is possible to create artificial precipitation in the desired area, pursuing certain goals.

On Monday, April 23, a variant of the Wing Loong drone successfully carried out artificial rain (snow) enhancement operations for 5 hours and 32 minutes in the Sanjiangyuan area of Qinghai, northwest China, contributing to the ecological restoration of water resources in the area. This locally manufactured drone, which boasts a long flight range and high load capacity, was first deployed in 2021.

For this purpose, the Wing Loong reconnaissance and attack drone is used, which is equipped with special cartridges to cause snow and rain. This device is made according to the scheme of the medium aircraft with elongated wings, which help to increase flight duration. The tail consists of a V-shaped stabilizer directed upward from the fuselage. The engine is located at the rear and drives the thrust propeller.

Network sources report that during the mission to artificially form precipitation, the drone was in the air for five and a half hours. The operation was carried out in the Sanjiangyuan region in Qinghai province in the west central part of the PRC. The rainfall in this province is 300-500 mm per year, therefore, steppes and semi-deserts in depressions and steppes in the mountains are common from natural zones.

A rainfall-calling drone was deployed to replenish local water resources. The route of the drone during the operation was corrected in real time based on data from the Fengyun satellite and meteorological radar.

2022: Start of artificial amplification of precipitation using drones

On October 3, 2022, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) announced that Wing Loong-2H, a large civilian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), conducted a successful cloud seeding operation in the Qinghai-Tibet highlands.

The Wing Loong-2H detected cloud accumulation over the Amni Machen Ridge in Sanjiangyuan District and successfully carried out artificial precipitation intensification in the form of rain and snow, AVIC, the country's leading aircraft manufacturer, said in a statement.

The purpose of the operation was to improve cloud seeding capacity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is of great importance to ensure stable livelihood and agricultural production of livestock, as well as to explore ways to combat climate change.

The operation was jointly conducted by the Meteorological Modification Center of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the CMA Meteorological Observation Center, the AVIC unit (Chengdu city) for the development of an unmanned aerial vehicle system, and many other units.

According to AVIC, the drone was equipped with special equipment to detect cloud clusters, study their characteristics and structure, as well as equipment to increase precipitation.

It is estimated that during the operation of the system, which lasted about five hours, the operation to increase the amount of precipitation affected the area of ​ ​ up to 15 thousand square meters. km, AVIC reported.

Wing Loong-2H 's work is part of the UAV testing of the Plateau Rainfall Increase System. Its goal is to increase snowfall and ice cover in glacier areas on the plateau.

In 2018 China, he tested the weather modification system, which made it possible to increase the amount of precipitation in the Tibetan Highlands to 10 billion cubic meters using a network of combustion chambers. m per year.