China's domestically made AG600 aircraft , also known as Kunlong, is expected to perform an aerial water drop and display its firefighting capabilities to the public. Developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the AG600 was designed for firefighting and emergency rescue operations. CGTN's reporter You Yang spoke with its chief designer.
YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "The AG600 is a breakthrough in Chinese aviation. It bridges the gap between military and civilian usage. What were the main challenges for its development?"
HUANG LINGCAI Chief Designer AG600 Amphibious Aircraft "An amphibious aircraft means it can land and take off on the ground or on water. Water and air are two different mediums. The AG600 is actually a 'trans-medium' aircraft. It solves the problems of coupling aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, such as the bearing capacity of water, wave resistance capacity of aircraft, quickness, and surface sliding. This is a unique characteristics to water planes. Thus an amphibious aircraft must solve all those kind of problems during its design process."
YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "The AG600 will reportedly be capable of carrying out firefighting tasks and will be put into military use next year. What more can we expect for it in the future?"
HUANG LINGCAI Chief Designer AG600 Amphibious Aircraft "Currently we have two AG600 aircraft which already kicked off their test flights. And the third one also carried out an aerial water drop test. All these functions have met our standards, demonstrating that the AG600 has firefighting capabilities. This year, two of our AG600 aircraft already completed their maiden flights. And the third one will make its maiden flight by the end of this month. And the firefighting plane is expected to gain airworthiness certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China by 2024. We hope the rescue plane can get certified by 2025."
YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "Are there any plans for the AG600 to go global?"
HUANG LINGCAI Chief Designer AG600 Amphibious Aircraft "Yes, in the future, we will speed up our development process and put the AG600 aircraft into the market as soon as possible. Besides firefighting and marine rescue operations, the AG600 can also carry out maritime law enforcement, sea patrol, island supply transport and plateau material delivery. Thus we believe it has prospects for wide-scale application. Of course, we hope to see it go global in the future."