Enormous Chinese cargo DRONE dubbed ‘pickup truck of the sky’ that can carry ONE TONNE of gear completes test milestone
AN ENORMOUS Chinese cargo drone dubbed the “pickup truck of the sky” that can carry a tonne has passed a milestone test on its journey to the skies.
China unveiled the whopper, called CH-YH1000, on Monday, and announced it had passed its “full-load taxiing test”.
Footage shows the hulking yellow vehicle trundle down a runway completely automatically – without anyone controlling it.
It is shaped much like a passenger plane, with two large horizontal wings and a tail fin.
It has two miniature propellers whirring at the front and runs on a set of three wheels in a triangular formation.
The wheels don’t leave the tarmac at any point, but this early-stage test was just to ensure the drone is able to taxi properly – not fly.
The oversized drone will be used to ferry large amounts of cargo around, earning it the title “pickup truck in the air”.
It’s hoped the vehicle will be especially useful to remote regions that struggle to receive deliveries through normal shipping methods.
The mini plane is powered by two strong engines and sports an upward-flipping nose door to allow the easy loading and removal of cargo.
It is also equipped with a belly hatch for special operations like emergency airdrops, or spraying water and pesticides.
Huang Wei from Aerospace CH UAV Co Ltd told the Global Times that the taxiing test is a landmark mission in the progress of unmanned drones.
Before an aircraft is approved, the tests it must usually pass are: low-speed taxiing, high-speed taxiing, first flight, flights with different mission loads, verification and demonstration.
Huang explained that during the tests the drones run completely automatically.
The operator only needs to upload instructions about where to start and finish, and it will do the rest.
The project to create the gigantic drone began in March 2024, and the first prototype was shown off at the Zhuhai Airshow in November.
The team will now prep for the first flight test.
It would be dangerous for the huge drone to fall into the wrong hands, so it has been equipped with sophisticated anti-hacking software.
It is common for drones to be meddled with by pesky tech nerds on the ground.
Another safety measure is an inbuilt protocol for the drone to return back along its outward route if it is meets interference or loses contact with ground control.
Huang said: “The unmanned transport aircraft we developed is like a ‘pickup truck in the air’.
“We hope to achieve efficient air transportation at only a slightly higher cost than land transportation, meet the logistics needs of remote areas, and solve the problem of high delivery fees and slow delivery time in regions such as Xizang and Xinjiang.”