China trials first cargo drone with 3-tonne payload capacity

Chinese aviation logged a new milestone with the test flight of an unmanned civilian drone capable of carrying up to 3.2 tonnes (3,200 kilograms) of cargo, as drone makers trial larger and larger drones in anticipation of future domestic demand.

The unmanned SA750U drone completed a 40-minute test flight at the dedicated drone test airport in Xi'an City, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Thursday, the official Hunan Daily reported on Friday.

The aircraft can operate as high as 7,300 meters and fly as far as 2,200 kilometers. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 7.5 tonnes, and a maximum cruising speed of 308 kilometers per hour. It is developed by Hunan Shanhe Huayu Aviation Technology, a drone maker based in central China's Hunan Province. 

Its primary applications include regional air logistics, unmanned material delivery in specific scenarios, and firefighting in forests and grasslands.

Manufacturers in the world's top drone-making nation are ramping up test flights as China loosens airspace curbs and rolls out incentives to build up a low-altitude economy which authorities say could become a 2-trillion-yuan ($280 billion) industry by 2030, a four-fold gain from 2023.

The test flight of SA750U came quickly on the heels of the trial of a drone earlier this month by a Sichuan-based manufacturer that boasted a payload capacity of two tonnes. Two months ago, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China tested a drone with a capacity of just 700 kilograms.

Cargo drones promise shorter delivery time and lower transport costs, Chinese industry insiders say. They can also take off or land at sites that lack conventional aviation infrastructure, such as rooftop spaces in heavily built-up cities.

(With input from agencies. Cover via CFP.)