DUNYA NEWS
Technology

China test-flies biggest cargo drone as low-altitude economy takes off

Tengden, is slightly larger than the world's most popular light aircraft, the four-seat Cessna 172.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China flew its biggest-yet unmanned cargo aircraft designed for civilian use, as the world's top drone-making nation steps up test flights of autonomous aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could ultimately ferry everything from takeouts to people.

Packing a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, the twin-engine aircraft took off on Sunday on an inaugural flight, state media said, citing developer Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co., for a trip of about 20 minutes in southwestern Sichuan province.

China's civilian drone makers are testing larger payloads as the government pushes to build a low-altitude economy, with the aviation regulator seeing a 2-trillion-yuan ($279-billion) industry by 2030, for a four-fold expansion from 2023.

With a wingspan of 16.1 m (52.8 ft) and a height of 4.6 m (15 ft), the aircraft, built entirely by government-funded Tengden, is slightly larger than the world's most popular light aircraft, the four-seat Cessna 172. 

Tengden's test flight followed the maiden flight in June of HH-100, a cargo drone developed by Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) with payload capacity of 700 kg (1,543 pounds) and a flight radius of 520 km (323 miles).

Next year, AVIC plans to test its biggest cargo drone, the TP2000, which can carry up to 2 tons of cargo a distance of 2,000 km (1,243 miles).

In a report this year, the government identified the low-altitude economy as a new growth engine for the first time, with vertical mobility seen as a "new productive force" in areas such as passenger transport and cargo deliveries.

In April, aviation authorities issued a production certificate to UAV maker EHang Holdings based in the southern city of Guangzhou, for its passenger-carrying drone, China's first such document for an autonomous passenger drone.

A month later, cargo drone firm Phoenix Wings, part of delivery giant SF Express, started delivering fresh fruit from the island province of Hainan to southern Guangdong, using Fengzhou-90 drones developed by SF, a unit of S.F. Holding.

By 2023, China had more than 2,000 enterprises engaged in the design or manufacture of UAVs, led by privately held DJI, the world's largest drone maker.

Recent Articles