Chinese military tests heavy aerial delivery with unmanned transport aircraft

The Chinese military has tested an unmanned transport plane that successfully delivered cargo at a designated area, making it a future prospect for airdropping cargo through parachutes in real battle conditions, official media here reported on Monday.

Jointly held by the National Defence University of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the aerial delivery exercise took place recently in Zhangye, Northwest China's Gansu Province, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The exercise featured an unmanned single-engine biplane, the designation of which was not revealed, as it carried a cargo of military supplies and successfully airdropped it into a target zone, according to the CCTV report.

This is the first time China has conducted a parachuted aerial delivery of cargo weighing more than 500 kilograms on a flight distance of more than 500 kms with an unmanned transport aircraft, CCTV quoted Li Ruixing, the ...