China flew its biggest-yet unmanned cargo aircraft designed for civilian use, as the world's top drone-making nation steps up test flights of autonomous aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could ultimately ferry everything from takeouts to people.
Packing a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, the twin-engine aircraft took off on Sunday on an inaugural flight, state media said, citing developer Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation, for a trip of about 20 minutes in southwestern Sichuan province.
China's civilian drone makers are testing larger payloads as the government pushes to build a low-altitude economy, with the aviation regulator seeing a 2-trillion-yuan ($279-billion) industry by 2030, for a four-fold expansion from 2023.