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E-mail Xinhua, April 29, 2024
An industrial base focused on producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was put into operation on Sunday in Zigong City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. and the Zigong municipal government jointly built this industrial base, aiming to boost the high-quality development of the UAV industry, said the AVIC, the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.
As a pioneer in the UAV industrial base, the AVIC (Chengdu) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System Co., Ltd. (AVIC UAS) has launched a production line capable of handling the final assembly and tests of up to 200 UAVs annually, according to the AVIC.
Since 2021, Zigong has been cultivating the UAV and general aviation industries, attracting 56 related institutions and enterprises, and becoming known for the production and pilot application of large and medium UAVs.
Developed by AVIC UAS, a Wing Loong-2 large civil UAV on Sunday successfully conducted an air logistics test flight, potentially providing a new solution for low-altitude air logistics, according to the AVIC.
The large UAV took off from an airport in Zigong to carry out a 15-minute regional air logistics test flight mission in a low-altitude airspace. Its rapid cargo-handling capabilities were verified during the test flight.
The Wing Loong series large civil UAVs -- primary UAV products of the industrial base -- are gearing up to explore new potential and application scenarios in the country's burgeoning low-altitude economy, the developer said.
And seizing the opportunities presented by the low-altitude economy, AVIC UAS will give full play to its advantages and generate core industrial resources to cultivate the Zigong UAV industrial base into a modern cluster, said Zhang Xiaojun, chairman of AVIC UAS.
According to this year's government work report, China vows to cultivate new growth drivers, such as biomanufacturing, the commercial space industry, and the low-altitude economy.
In the low-altitude economy sector alone, the market size is expected to surge from over 500 billion yuan (70.36 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023 to 2 trillion yuan by 2030 as the country accelerates the development of UAVs for tourism and logistics activities, among other uses.
