Unmanned transport plane makes maiden flight in Shaanxi

The Tianma 1000 unmanned transport plane made its maiden flight from an airport in Shaanxi province on Sunday morning, according to China North Industries Group Corp.

Developed by Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group, a subsidiary of the State-owned defense conglomerate, the new model can operate on complex plateau terrains and is able to take off and land on very short runways.

In addition to conventional functions, it can also airdrop materials, which means it can be used for not only cargo transport but also rapid delivery and emergency rescue.

According to designers, the Tianma 1000 has a maximum operating altitude of 8 kilometers, a top flight range of 1,800 km, a minimum takeoff/landing distance of less than 200 meters, and a maximum carrying capacity of 1 metric ton, equivalent to the weight of a family car.

Equipped with an optical-guided landing assistance system, the Tianma 1000 can intelligently identify the landing zone under low-visibility conditions such as rain, snow, fog and haze, and achieve high-precision autonomous landing. The model is able to carry out tasks in complex environments including plateaus, coastal areas and mountainous regions, and features a high success rate and reliability under difficult and emergency circumstances.

Based on the in-depth integration of aviation cargo transport patterns and artificial intelligence technology, engineers designed an intelligent loading and unloading system for the drone, which can independently finish the loading and unloading of 1 ton of supplies within 5 minutes, saving on time and labor costs.

It also features intelligent route planning and autonomous obstacle avoidance capabilities that can identify and evade various obstacles and automatically map out safe and cost-effective flight paths in unfamiliar airspace and complex terrain. Even under adverse weather conditions like strong crosswinds and airflow disturbances, the type can still maintain stable and controllable flight via its attitude and position fault-tolerant system.

According to designers, the aircraft also supports the precise airdrop of multiple batches and types of supplies, markedly improving mission success rates and support efficiency.