CH-1 Rainbow-1 / CH-2 Rainbow-2 Drone

The Rainbow UAV is the largest UAV family in China developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (not China Aviation Industry Corporation). Unmanned aerial vehicles flying without a pilot on board are called target drones, remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or flying robots. In general, a drone refers to a vehicle that self-flies on a pre-programmed route, and RPV is classified as a vehicle that flies remotely from the ground or control station using electronic equipment.

A number of foreign nations are awaiting delivery of China's CH series military drones, one of the country's most popular products on the international arms market. The drone family has the name Cai Hong, which means rainbow in Chinese. The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics in Beijing, , part of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, is one of China's largest military drone developers. Its CH series drones have been sold to 20 military users from more than 10 foreign countries and are the largest military drone family that China has exported.

The early models, CH-1 and CH-2, are small, unarmed reconnaissance craft that have a proven record in locating and monitoring targets. The larger ones � the CH-3 midrange combat and reconnaissance drone and CH-4 mid-altitude, high-endurance armed drone � immediately attracted buyers seeking a powerful, affordable unmanned combat aircraft. The first contract to export CH drones was signed in 2003 and fulfilled in 2004, when a South Asian country bought several CH-1.