The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies CAIG: 1 model, 5 deployments across 4 regions, 3 active incidents. 2 sources back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
CAIG (Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, officially AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate and a subsidiary of AVIC. Founded in 1958 in Chengdu, Sichuan, CAIG designs and manufactures combat aircraft including the Chengdu J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter, as well as the Wing Loong II (GJ-2), a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle used for reconnaissance and precision strike. The Wing Loong II is operated by China's PLAAF and has been widely exported across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 5 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- 3 incidents on file
Key facts
Type
Product
Operator
Category
Chairman
Parent company
Also known as
Data & sources
Web sources
2
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →CAIG on the deployment map
View the global map5 verified deployments across 4 regions, newest verified Jun 2024. Explore where CAIG's robots are operating, by place and type.
- operationalWing Loong II at Riyadh →Middle East · verified Jun 2024
- operationalWing Loong II at China →East Asia · verified Nov 2018
- operationalWing Loong II at Pakistan →South Asia · verified Oct 2018
- operationalWing Loong II at United Arab Emirates →Arkansas · verified Jan 2017
- operationalWing Loong II at Saudi Arabia →Middle East · verified Jan 2014
View the full CAIG deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Wang Guangya Chairmansecondary-verified
Safety record
3 incidents on record (1 critical, 2 serious). Most recent: Jan 2020.
Most recent: Jan 2020
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting CAIG (3)
- UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets2020-01-04 · Fatality
via Wing Loong II at Riyadh
via Wing Loong II at Riyadh
via Wing Loong II at Riyadh
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Operator customers (1)
- CAIG5 deployments
Recent coverage
CAIG in third-party press
Peers
99 peers across 1 segment. Every CAIG competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
drone(99)
57 companies in this segment · moderately_concentrated (HHI 1809.2177305910177) · leader Anduril Industries at 3057%
- AEVEX Aerospacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- ATL Global Holding AGdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aereodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AeroVironmentdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgXeeddirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AirForestrydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Employees
- 20,000
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
Wing Loong II at Riyadh
- Incident recordedJan 4, 2020
UAE-operated Wing Loong II drone strike on Tripoli military academy kills 26 cadets
- Incident recordedAug 3, 2019
Multiple Wing Loong II drones shot down in Libya during civil war (2019-2021)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedNov 1, 2018
Wing Loong II at China
Sources (2)
Common questions
What is CAIG?
What does CAIG make?
Is CAIG publicly traded?
Who competes with CAIG?
How can I invest in CAIG?
Where is CAIG headquartered?
Who owns CAIG?
Where does CAIG operate robots?
How many robots has CAIG deployed?
Is CAIG a top robotics company?
When was CAIG founded?
Are there any incidents involving CAIG?
Is CAIG safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for CAIG.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning CAIG from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
CAIG Wing Loong II - Wikipedia
Comprehensive overview of the Wing Loong II (GJ-2) MALE UCAV, its development, design, operators, and combat history in Libya, Yemen, and Nigeria.
UAE implicated in lethal drone strike in Libya
BBC Africa Eye investigation revealed the UAE used Wing Loong II drones to fire Chinese Blue Arrow 7 missiles at a military academy in Tripoli, killing 26 unarmed cadets in…
Chinese combat drones log over 5000 flight hours in Saudi Arabia
Wing Loong II drones operated by Saudi Arabia logged over 5,000 flight hours in combat operations, demonstrating the platform's reliability in active conflict zones.
China, Pakistan to jointly produce Wing Loong II UAVs, says report
Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation announced they would jointly produce 48 Wing Loong II UAVs for the Pakistan Air Force.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/caig.md
- RSS feed: /companies/caig/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/b28aeda5-aba8-4579-810d-68636d07aead
- Revision history: /companies/caig/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
Video
Wing Loong II, codenamed GJ-2, is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, built as an airborne reconnaissance and strike platfo
Footage of Wing Loong II UAV strikes by the Nigerian Air Force against Boko Haram militants.
Heat Index
Serious50/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
CAIG draws attention at the 13th percentile but verifies reality at the 79th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -66.1, 129th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 6, 2026