China's first-ever large unmanned cargo aircraft with a payload capacity exceeding three tonnes has recently completed a successful maiden flight, marking a new milestone as drone makers continue to trial larger craft to meet the future domestic demand.
The flight took place at the dedicated drone test airport in Yulin City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and marks another step forward in the fast-developing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector.
The aircraft, dubbed the SA750U, has a maximum take-off weight of 7.5 tonnes and a maximum payload of 3.2 tonnes - which represents a record-breaking cargo capacity for an unmanned drone.
The plane has a maximum range of 2,200 kilometers, and a cruising speed of just over 300 kilometers per hour. It can take off fully loaded within a runway distance of 400 meters and fly at altitudes of up to 7,300 meters.
The aircraft's primary applications will include serving regional air logistics, completing unmanned material delivery in specific scenarios, and conducting firefighting operations in forests and grasslands.
The maiden flight comes after more than two and a half years' development by the Hunan Aerospace Huayu Communication Technology company, a firm based in central China's Hunan Province.
The successful trial flight comes as China opens up a range of new application scenarios for its burgeoning low-altitude economy sector, which is expected to become a major economic driver in the coming years, with the total scale expected to reach 2 trillion yuan (around 280 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030.
Chinese unmanned cargo aircraft with largest ever carrying capacity completes maiden flight
