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Air · Multirole aircraft

CH-6 / Caihong-6

Named Rainbow-family programme confirmed in CASC's exhibition announcements; production acceptance and definitive current specifications remain unverified.

Role & capabilities

  • Announced uncrewed multirole programme
Concept / announcedConcept / announced
Primary domain
Air
System type
Multirole aircraft
Developer / manufacturer
CASC — Rainbow programme
Origin / production countries
China
Other names
Caihong-6; Rainbow-6; 彩虹-6
Variants / configurations
Not distinguished in reviewed sources
Operators / programme customers
Not identified in reviewed sources

Evidence & current status

Manufacturer's indexed announcement was readable; direct page fetch returned 404. Named programme verified, achieved performance and acceptance not established.

CH-6 is a named member of CASC's Rainbow uncrewed-aircraft portfolio. CASC included it in its own announcement of defence exhibits for the 2022 China airshow, identifying it separately from CH-7 and other collaborative-aircraft proposals. That manufacturer reference is sufficient to establish a programme identity, while remaining much narrower than a service-entry announcement.

The programme should not inherit the CH-5's operational record or the CH-7's later flight milestones. Shared branding describes an industrial family, not a common airframe or performance standard. Reports about exhibition dimensions and planned mission payloads also need to be tied to the particular model or airframe that was shown.

No directly reviewed current primary source established an accepted CH-6 production configuration, a confirmed customer delivery or a complete dated flight-test specification. Accordingly, this entry keeps the programme at the announced stage and leaves numerical performance fields open. A useful future update would add a manufacturer flight milestone or customer procurement statement, preserving the date and variant rather than combining exhibition estimates with other Rainbow-family data.

Sourced specifications

Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
AirframeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Launch / recoveryNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PropulsionNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
DimensionsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
MassNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
EnduranceNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
RangeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
AltitudeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PayloadNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SensorsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Communications / navigationNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗

Documented milestones

  1. Manufacturer exhibition announcement

    CASC lists CH-6 among its planned airshow exhibits; this is not a flight or service milestone.

    Read the announcement ↗

Publication history

  • — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.

Suggest a correction to this entry →

Follow the evidence

Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.

  1. CASC: 2022 airshow programme naming CH-6 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer

Explore the connections

Air · Coverage auditAsia

Asia defence drone coverage audit

12 original research topics reviewed: 0 resolved, 11 partially resolved and 1 still open. The remaining register identifies specific evidence needs.

Reviewed 21 Sept 2026Read
CompanyChina

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

Coverage focus: CH-4 / Rainbow family. A family of Chinese reconnaissance and armed aircraft associated with CASC. The CH designation spans different airframes; the CH-4 offers an identifiable example with publicly documented overseas military use.

Reviewed 20 Sept 2026Read