Domestically developed planes bolster China’s emergency rescue capabilities

China’s aviation industry has bolstered the country’s emergency rescue capabilities by advancing the continuous development of independently-developed aircraft.

A range of homegrown civil aircraft, such as large amphibious aircraft, large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) and helicopters, are moving ahead to serve emergency rescue missions, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country’s leading planemaker.

These aircraft have been used for various emergency missions in the country, such as fighting forest fires, drought relief, ecological protection and telecommunications restoration, among others.

The AG600M amphibious firefighting aircraft has successfully conducted its pivotal tests of scooping and water dropping, which are key features of this large amphibious aircraft designed to combat forest fires.

AG600M is a full-state, new-configuration firefighting model belonging to China’s AG600 large amphibious aircraft family, which is specially developed by the AVIC to serve the country’s emergency rescue missions.

Multiple homegrown aircraft capable of serving emergency rescue missions, including the AC352 and AC313A civil helicopters, and various models of the Wing Loong large civil UAV family, are making rapid progress by taking significant strides forward in their development.

The Z15, also known as the AC352, certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in late July, a key step toward its market entry.

As China’s first homegrown medium-sized civil helicopter, it can carry up to 16 passengers and has high search and rescue efficiency in diverse missions.

Going ahead, more configurations of AC352 for firefighting, emergency transport and medical rescue are expected, according to the AVIC.