China runs a test flight on its largest cargo drone carrying 2 metric tons

China’s state-backed Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation has conducted test runs with its largest cargo drone with a payload capacity of 2 metric tons, Reuters reports. The twin-engine cargo drone was launched for a first 20-minute flight on a 100 km flight from southeastern Sichuan province to Shanghai.

Not the first test flight: State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) completed the maiden flight of its HH-100 cargo drone back in June, the newswire writes. The drone has a payload capacity of 700 kg and a flight radius of 520 km.

What’s next? AVIC aims to trail-run next year its biggest cargo drone yet, the TP2000, which can travel four times farther than the HH-100 and has a payload capacity of up to 2 tons.

Why is this important? Chinese industries are leveraging cargo drones to shorten delivery times, lower transport costs, and access sites without conventional aviation facilities, insider sources told the newswire. The nation is easing airspace curbs and adding incentives to nourish its low-altitude economy.

The semiconductor and automobile industries made up 31.7% of South Korea’s exports in 2Q, amounting to USD 54.3 bn, Yonhap reports. Exports of chips accounted for around 20.3% of total exports, reaching a record high for the first time since 2017. The revival of the global chip market has been attributed to rising demand from the cloud computing and AI sectors.