Tonnage-level cargo drone tested in China

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As drone delivery gains momentum globally, a new cargo drone named AT200 was tested in Pucheng County, northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province on Thursday.

The drone is 11.84-meters long and 4.04-meters high, and it has a wingspan of 12.8 meters. Notably, the drone has a maximum take-off weight of 3.4 tonnes and a holding capacity of 10 cubic meters.

AT200, developed by The Institute of Engineering Thermophysics (IET) of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and other institutes, is considered the world’s first civilian cargo drone that has a payload of 1.5 tons, ecns.cn reported.

AT200 was tested in Pucheng County, northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province on October 26. /Photo via Ecns.cn

The drone is equipped with advanced flight controls and command systems, which enable it to fly without a pilot. Manipulators can control the drone with monitors in some simple tasks, lowering the operational difficulty and freight cost.

AT200 has a cruising speed of 313 km/h with a battery life of eight hours, and has takeoff and landing capacities of only 200 meters when fully loaded, on land or grass.

Developers are accounting for the drone to solve the shipment difficulties in mountainous areas and destinations at high altitude, according to the institute.

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