The Chinese drone manufacturer Tengden has announced that its drone, with a reported payload capacity of around 2000 kg, has successfully completed its first flight. The drone is currently the largest cargo drone built in the country. Although primarily intended for commercial use, the unnamed twin-engine aircraft has significant potential for military applications, particularly for delivering supplies to troops in remote locations.
The successful maiden flight of Tengden’s new cargo drone lasted approximately 20 minutes, according to local media. While the manufacturer is nominally a private company, it has close ties with the Chinese military.
The drone reportedly has a wingspan of approximately 16.1 meters and a height of just over 4.6 meters, with nearly 12 cubic meters of internal cargo space. The Chinese drone is equipped with a tricycle landing gear and is designed for takeoff and landing on traditional runways.
Details on how the cargo is loaded and unloaded remain unclear, but footage from the first flight reveals that the Tengden drone has at least one large side-opening door on the left side of the rear fuselage, as well as another smaller door in the front section.
The manufacturer has yet to release details about the drone’s capabilities beyond its payload capacity, such as its level of autonomy. It is known that the drone features a large white antenna dome on the front of the fuselage, which will be used for satellite communication, allowing for direct contact with controllers beyond the line of sight. At a minimum, the drone should be capable of moving from point A to point B autonomously or semi-autonomously, following a pre-programmed route.
Tengden’s new development comes roughly two months after China’s Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) unveiled its cargo drone, the HH-100, which boasts a claimed payload capacity of around 700 kg. The HH-100 made its first flight on June 12, covering a distance of 35 km, although the duration of the flight remains undisclosed. AVIC stated that their unmanned cargo aircraft would be capable of reaching speeds of 300 km/h, climbing to an altitude of 5,000 meters, and covering a range of 520 km when fully loaded.
“Manufacturers in the country, which is the world leader in drone production, are testing increasingly larger payloads… as China relaxes airspace restrictions and provides incentives to develop the low-altitude economy,” Reuters reported. “The country’s aviation regulator predicts that by 2030, the industry will reach $279 billion, and starting from 2023, it will grow fourfold.”
Chinese companies are already conducting commercial cargo flights using unmanned aircraft, including Feihong-98 (FH-98) drones. The FH-98 is an unmanned derivative of the Yun-5B, itself a clone of the An-2 aircraft, which first took to the skies in 1947 and remains in service worldwide for both military and commercial purposes.
Source: twz
