China unveils cargo drone capable of carrying up to 2 tons

China unveils cargo drone capable of carrying up to 2 tons

The Chinese drone manufacturer Tengden has announced a new unmanned cargo aircraft, with a capacity of around 2,000 kilogramshas completed its first flight. Although the company is targeting this as-yet-unnamed design primarily at commercial operators, the new drone has clear military applicationsespecially to help supply resources to the forces of the People’s Liberation ArmyEPL, in remote locations.

The successful maiden flight of Tengden’s new cargo drone, which lasted approximately 20 minutestook place this weekend at the Zigong Fengming General Airportin the southwestern province of Sichuan, according to Chinese state media.

The drone has a wingspan of 16.1 metersa height of 4.6 meters to the tip of its vertical tail, and 12 cubic meters of internal space for cargo. The unmanned cargo aircraft has three-wheel landing gear and is designed to take off and land on traditional tracks.

Tengden drone on the runway.CGTN.

It’s not entirely clear how it charges and unloads, but images from the first flight suggest that Tengden’s new drone has at least a relatively large opening side door on the left side from the rear of the fuselage, as well as another smaller one towards the front.

Tengden has revealed few details about the drone’s features beyond its payload capacity, nor how much autonomy it might have. The aircraft features a white dome on top of the forward end of the fuselage that houses systems for satellite communicationsallowing you direct beyond-line-of-sight connectivity to controllers.

Tengen’s new design has been made public two months after the China Aviation Industry Corporation. State-controlled AVIC to unveil cargo drone HH-100with a declared payload capacity of about 700 kilogramsThe maiden flight of the HH-100, which reportedly covered a distance of 35 kilometers but whose duration is unknown, took place on June 12.

AVIC has said its unmanned cargo aircraft is expected to be able to fly at a cruising speed of 300 kilometers per hourreach an altitude of 5,000 meters and be able to fly 520 kilometers with a full charge.

Tengden flew another cargo drone, the TB-001D Scorpion Dfor the first time in 2022. The four-engine Scorpion D has a larger wingspan than the new design, but is smaller overall and its payload capacity is around 1.360 kgTengden has previously proposed an even larger, jet-powered, dual-fuselage cargo drone design. Other Chinese companies are also working on larger cargo drone designs.

‘Manufacturers in the world’s top drone-producing nation are testing ever-larger payloads… as China eases airspace restrictions and provides incentives to build a low-altitude economy,’ Reuters reports. ‘Its aviation regulator predicts a 2 trillion yuan, $279 billion, industry by 2030, representing a fourfold increase from 2023’.

Chinese companies are already carrying out commercial unmanned cargo flights, including the use of drones Feihong-98 or FH-98. The FH-98 is an unmanned biplane derived from the Yun-5Bwhich in turn is a clone of the famous Antonov An-2 Soviet aircraft that first flew in 1947 and remains in service around the world for military and commercial purposes. Last week, reports emerged of the first FH-98 crash on Hainan Island, China.

Tengden has already established itself as a manufacturer of medium-altitude, long-endurance military drones, MALE for its acronym in English, capable of carrying out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, ISRand attacks using small precision munitions. Several of Tengden’s MALE drone types are in active service with the PLA and have been conducting long-range missions around Taiwan and parts of Japan.

In addition, the EPL has an interest in expand its ability to conduct expeditionary operations further and further from the Chinese mainlandIn an active conflict or other high-risk scenario, drones would offer an option for resupplying troops without putting the crew of a cargo plane at risk.