China has successfully tested the world’s largest unmanned transport drone, which can carry a payload of 1.5 tons. The state-run China Daily had reported that the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology had developed and modified a large commercial drone FH-98, Feihong-98 which made an outstanding test flight at Baotou test site on Tuesday, in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
It was adapted from the prototype of the Shifei Y5B, the indigenously-developed transport plane.
As China’s first completely domestically built transport aircraft, the Shifei Y5B has a history of over 60 years since its first flight in 1957 and has been extensively used by the collaborators on the project.
China has been making fast advances in the development of UAVs.
Most people believe that the Feihong-98 can contribute enormously to the establishment of a standard for unmanned aircraft management, aerial deliveries and airspace control systems in China.
Focusing on the features, the FH-98 has a maximum takeoff weight of 5.25 tons, a maximum capacity of 1.5 tons and 15 cubic meters, a flight height of 4,500 meters, a cruising speed of 180 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of 1,200 kilometers, the report said.
According to Liu Meixuan, President of the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology (CAAET), the aircraft has been developed via upgrading the proven technologies in China’s aviation sector like the observation of flight control systems as well as sensory and transmission technology.
FH-98 has characteristics consisting of simple take-off and landing, simple operation, and equipped with advanced technology at a reasonable cost. It’s an important carrier which features military and civilian integration. It will play a vital role in military and civilian sectors.
Watch a video of China testing world’s largest drone:
