Sophisticated! China Tests Flight of Largest Cargo Drone

China’s largest cargo drone is undergoing a test flight, marking a new milestone for the country’s growing lowland economy.

With a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, the twin-engine cargo drone developed by Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co and funded by the government took off in the southwestern province of Sichuan on Sunday (8/11) for a maiden flight that lasted about 20 minutes.

According to Reuters, the drone has a wingspan of 16.1 m and a height of 4.6 m, slightly larger than the world’s most popular light aircraft, the four-seater Cessna 172.

At the same time, transportation companies in China are also planning manned and unmanned air taxi services as China eases airspace restrictions and provides incentives to build the lowland economy.

China’s aviation regulator expects the industry to be worth 2 trillion yuan ($300 million) by 2030, with a fourfold expansion from 2023.

Tengden’s test comes after the maiden flight of an unmanned cargo aircraft developed by Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), a leading state-owned aerospace company, in June.

AVIC’s HH-100 has a payload capacity of 700 kg (1,543 pounds) and a flight range of 520 km (320 miles). Next year, AVIC plans to test its largest cargo drone, the TP2000, which can carry up to 2 tons of cargo and fly four times farther than the HH-100.

Drone Logistics

China has already begun commercial delivery using drones. In May, cargo drone company Phoenix Wings, part of delivery giant SF Express, began delivering fresh fruit from the island province of Hainan to southern Guangdong using SF’s Fengzhou-90 drones.

According to industry insiders in China, cargo drones promise shorter delivery times and lower transportation costs, while expanding deliveries to locations where conventional aviation is lacking, such as rooftop spaces in densely populated cities.

They could also transport people via taxi services. In April, aviation authorities issued a production certificate to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) maker EHang Holdings, headquartered in the southern city of Guangzhou, for its passenger-carrying drone. It was the first certification in China for an autonomous passenger drone.

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