DRONELEDGER / Press factsheet
CH-4 / Cai Hong-4 family
A compact selection from this profile, with sources and limits. Other configurations and additional measurements remain in the full profile.
CASC’s Chinese reconnaissance and strike drone family. A USCC industry study records the full-size model displayed in 2012; later Janes reporting examines Iraq’s return of aircraft to service. An exhibition model, a family label and a national fleet are different evidence scopes.[1][2]
Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.
The numbers, with their sources
Unknown in reviewed sources
Form, sound & identification limits
- The early USCC report explicitly leaves developmental status unclear. Its display evidence cannot certify the endurance or payload of later CH-4A/CH-4B configurations. No family-wide numeric specification is manufactured here.[1]
- Janes describes maintenance and contract constraints in Iraq, not a universal platform failure rate. CH-5 is a separate aircraft; fleet availability and combat effectiveness are not interchangeable quantities.[2]
Shape or sound alone cannot identify a drone. Follow local public-safety alerts; do not approach wreckage.
Source notebook
- US–China Economic and Security Review Commission · China’s Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Industry, PDF p.12
Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Approximate / analyst compilation
- Janes · Original assessment of Iraqi Ministry of Defence footage and fleet return
2022-08-09 · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Firsthand reporting
Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable
Cite this profile
DroneLedger. CASC CH-4 / Rainbow-4 family. 2026-11-01. https://droneincidents.com/drones/ch-4-family/editions/2026-11-01/
Our text, data and schematic drawings: CC BY 4.0, credit DroneLedger and link to the profile. Linked publications and quoted passages keep their own rights.