Role & capabilities
- Multirole aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- CASC — China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics / Aerospace CH UAV
- Origin / production countries
- China
- Other names
- Caihong-5; Rainbow-5; CH 5
- Variants / configurations
- CH-5 baseline; named customer configurations require separate verification
- Operators / programme customers
- Complete CH-5-specific customer and configuration list not established
Evidence & current status
Manufacturer programme and production-base evidence are available. Specific operator configurations and several current technical fields remain undisclosed in the reviewed sources.
CH-5 is a larger medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft in CASC's Caihong, or Rainbow, family. CASC's own product description presents it as a multirole system for extended surveillance and reconnaissance, with an armed configuration also available. The manufacturer additionally identifies civilian observation applications, illustrating the family's military and civil market positioning.
A subsequent CASC account identifies CH-4 and CH-5 production at its Taizhou base. This establishes an industrial programme beyond an isolated airshow model, but does not by itself identify the configurations delivered to individual military customers. Public accounts of the entire Rainbow family should therefore not be treated as an operator list for CH-5 alone.
The limited endurance figure included here comes from a US government industrial study quoting the programme's designer and relates to an armed configuration. Other, longer endurance claims may concern different payloads or development objectives. This entry keeps those distinctions visible and does not transfer CH-4 specifications into CH-5. A current manufacturer data sheet and customer-specific delivery statements remain the priorities for deeper coverage.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Large MALE multirole UAV | Manufacturer role and class description. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Up to 30 hours in the armed configuration cited by CASI | 2025 government study quoting the programme designer; not a universal maximum for all payloads. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Production-base account published
CASC identifies CH-5 among the aircraft produced at its Taizhou base.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.