China Tests Drone with Two Metric Ton Payload Capacity

[Beijingwalker]

China Tests Drone with Two Metric Ton Payload Capacity​

Nolan Beilstein

In mid-August, China tested an uncrewed cargo drone that features a payload capacity of two metric tons, or about 4,400 pounds.

Chinese media reported that the twin-engine aircraft bore off from the Zigong Fengming General Airport and completed a nearly 20-minute test flight with all systems operating normally.

Chinese drone manufacturing company Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co. developed the aircraft, which features a 52.8-foot wingspan, a 15-foot height, and about 423 cubic feet of cargo space. The company expects the drone will help China boost its air cargo transportation capabilities and establish a new form of smart logistics in a low-altitude economy.

The test flight comes about two months after the Aviation Industry Corp of China debuted its HH-100, a cargo drone with a payload capacity of over 1,500 pounds and a flight radius of about 323 miles. Reuters reported that the company plans to test the TP2000 next year, showcasing the aircraft’s 2-metric-ton payload capacity and a flight range four times greater than the HH-100’s.

China’s aviation regulator has projected the country’s low-altitude economy to reach nearly $279 billion by 2030. Cargo drone company Phoenix Wings has already entered this sector. In May, the firm began using Fengzhou-90 drones to deliver fresh fruit from Hainan to southern Guangdong.

China is also exploring the use of drones to transport people. In April, the government granted a production certificate to EHang Holdings, an unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer, for a drone designed to carry passengers.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Heavy And Fast: China Test-flies Its Biggest Unmanned Cargo Plane​

Aug 12, 2024

Engineers sent China's biggest-yet cargo drone on a test run over the weekend, laying new milestones for the country's expanding low-altitude economy.

Packing a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, the twin-engine cargo drone developed by state-funded Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co took off in southwestern Sichuan province on Sunday for its inaugural flight that lasted approximately 20 minutes, state media reported.

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

Manufacturers in the world's top drone-making nation are testing ever larger payloads while transport companies are planning air taxi services both manned and unmanned as China loosens airspace curbs and grants incentives to build up a low-altitude economy.

Its aviation regulator foresees a 2-trillion-yuan ($279-billion) industry by 2030, for a four-fold expansion from 2023.

The Tengden trial run followed the maiden flight in June of a cargo drone developed by state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), the leading aerospace enterprise.

The AVIC's HH-100 has a payload capacity of 700 kg (1,543 pounds) and a flight radius of 520 km.

Next year, AVIC plans to test its biggest cargo drone, the TP2000, which can carry up to 2 tons of cargo and fly four times farther than the HH-100.China has already begun commercial deliveries by drone.