China trials cargo drone with biggest payload capacity yet

Chinese aviation logged a new milestone with a test flight of an unmanned civilian drone capable of carrying up to 3.2 metric tons of cargo, as drone makers trial larger and larger drones in anticipation of future domestic demand.

The unmanned SA750U developed by a drone maker based in southern Hunan province completed a 40-minute test flight on Thursday morning, the official Hunan Daily reported on Friday, adding the aircraft can operate as high as 7,300 meters (24,000 feet) and fly as far as 2,200 kms (1,367 miles).

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 2 tons. Two months ago, state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China tested a drone with a capacity of just 700 kg.

Cargo drones promise shorter delivery times 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.

China has already begun commercial deliveries by drone. In May, a firm under delivery giant SF Express started delivering fresh fruit from the island of Hainan to Guangdong.

In a report this year, the government identified the low-altitude economy as a new growth engine for the first time, with vertical mobility seen as a “new productive force” in areas such as passenger and cargo transport.