Written by Ryan Wu
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has launched the largest cargo drone yet designed for civilian use, as the world’s biggest drone maker ramps up test flights of autonomous aerial vehicles that could eventually carry everything from takeaway meals to people.
The two-tonne, twin-engine aircraft took off on Sunday for its inaugural flight in southwestern Sichuan province, state media reported, citing Sichuan Tingden Science-Tech Innovation Co., the plane’s developer.
China’s civilian drone makers are testing larger payloads as the government seeks to build a low-altitude economy, with the aviation regulator predicting the industry will be worth 2 trillion yuan ($279 billion) by 2030, with a fourfold expansion from 2023.
With a wingspan of 16.1 metres (52.8 feet) and a height of 4.6 metres (15 feet), the Tingden drone is slightly larger than the world’s most popular light aircraft, the four-seat Cessna 172.
The trial operation follows the maiden flight in June of a cargo drone developed by state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a leading aerospace company.
AVIC’s HH-100 has a payload capacity of 700 kg (1,543 lb) and a range of 520 km. Next year, AVIC plans to test its largest cargo drone, the TP2000, which can carry up to two tons of cargo and fly up to four times the distance of the HH-100.
China has already begun commercially delivering goods by drone.
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 Fengzhou-90 drones developed by SF, a unit of SF Holding.
Chinese industry insiders say cargo drones promise shorter delivery times and lower transportation costs, while expanding deliveries to locations that lack traditional air facilities, such as rooftop spaces in densely populated cities.
They were also able to transport people via taxi services.
In April, aviation authorities issued a production certificate to EHang Holdings, a drone manufacturer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, for its passenger-carrying drone, the first such document in China for a self-piloted passenger drone.
In a report released this year, the government identified the low-altitude economy as a new growth driver for the first time, with vertical mobility seen as a “new productive force” in areas such as passenger and freight transport.
A manned commercial helicopter took off for the first time on Saturday from the city of Kunshun in Jiangsu province, heading for Shanghai Pudong Airport, about 100 km (62 miles) away, state media said.
Shanghai New Sky Heli Co aims to cut travel time between the two cities to 20 minutes from several hours, with a one-way fare of 1,800 yuan. Up to 30,000 passengers a year are expected to use the route, which opens on August 18.
Shanghai aims to expand low-altitude roads to cover other cities in the Yangtze River Delta.
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