The World's Biggest Cargo Drone Has Carried Over 1.5 Tons In

China is one of the leaders in the drone industry. Living up to that status, China has recently launched a cargo drone able to lift loads of up to 1.5 tons, the size of the drone is equivalent to that of a Cessna. The twin-engined autonomous aerial vehicle (UAV) took its maiden flight on Sunday (August 11th) according to local media.

The drone has been developed by the Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Company. The inaugural flight of the drone lasted about 20 minutes. The AVIC HH-100 has a wingspan of 52.8 feet (16.1 m) and a height of 15 feet (4.6 m). These dimensions make it slightly larger than a four-seater Cessna 172.

The UAV has easy loading and unloading features, high reliability and safety levels, and advanced intelligence. This leap in the drone industry is set to benefit China in expanding its air cargo transportation capabilities and creating innovative smart logistics solutions for a low-altitude economy.

With a maximum range of 323 miles and a payload capacity of 1,543 pounds the AVIC’s HH-100 boasts impressive stats. The AVIC plans on testing its largest-ever cargo drone, the TP 2000, next year. The TP 2000 can carry a payload of 2 tons and flies 4 times faster than a HH-100.

To create a low-altitude economy, China’s civilian drone producers are trying heavier payloads. The aviation regulator estimates that the business will grow to 2 trillion yuan ($279 billion) by 2030, which is four times more than it will be in 2023.

Drone deliveries for commerce have already started in China. For instance, in May, Phoenix Wings, a cargo drone business affiliated with the massive delivery company SF Express, started utilizing Fengzhou-90 drones, which are produced by SF, a division of S.F. Holding, to transport fresh fruit from Hainan province to southern Guangdong.

According to industry experts in China, cargo drones have the potential to reduce delivery times and expenses while expanding delivery reach to locations without traditional aviation infrastructure, like rooftops in densely populated cities. They could also use taxis to transport passengers.

The southern Guangzhou-based UAV manufacturer EHang Holdings received a production certificate in April of this year from aviation regulators for its passenger-carrying drone. It is the first document of its kind for an autonomous passenger drone in China.

For the first time, the government has recognized the low-altitude economy as a new development engine in a recent report. In the passenger and cargo transportation industries, vertical mobility is seen as a “new productive force.”

According to Reuters, manned commercial passenger helicopters took off from Kunshan, a city in Jiangsu province, on Saturday and traveled around 62 miles (100 km) to Shanghai Pudong Airport.

With one-way rates of up to 1,800 yuan, Shanghai NewSky Heli Company hopes to cut the time it takes to fly between the cities from several hours to 20 minutes. It is anticipated that the route will launch on August 18 and carry about 30,000 people a year.

Shanghai intends to include other cities in the Yangtze River delta on low-altitude aircraft routes.