Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China - Oct 16, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. FH-98 large commercial unmanned transport aircraft taking off
2. Various of monitoring station
3. Engineers observing flight of airfreighter
4. Various of airfreighter flying
5. Airfreighter taxiing after landing
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Meixuan, president, China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology:
"The Feihong 98 large commercial unmanned transport aircraft is upgraded from our original manned aircraft with proven techniques in China's aviation sector, such as flight control technology, observation and control technology, and sensor and transmission technology. This allowed us to develop a large commercial unmanned transport aircraft. The aircraft is easy to take off, land, and operate. It is equipped with advanced technologies and is reliable in flight. It has an affordable cost. It is an important carrier that features military and civilian integration and will later come to play a bigger role in the military and civilian sectors."
7. Various of engineers checking FH-98 airfreighter
8. Airfreighter

China made another breakthrough in the field of unmanned flight on Tuesday with a successful test flight of a large commercial unmanned transport aircraft in Baotou, a city in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The FH-98, developed from China's Yun-5B aircraft, has a maximum take-off weight of 5.25 tons and a maximum payload weight of 1.5 tons, which makes it the largest cargo drone in the world.

The plane is capable of reaching a flying altitude of 4,500 meters and a cruising speed of 180 kilometers per hour, and has a maximum range of 1,200 kilometers.

The highly-maneuverable aircraft can be used to deliver goods to remote towns, mountainous areas and islands, with the shortest distance between take-off and landing being just 150 meters.

Liu Meixuan, president of China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology, said the aircraft had been developed through upgrading the proven technologies in China's aviation sector, such as flight control, observation and control systems, as well as sensory and transmission technology.

"The aircraft is easy to take off, land, and operate. It is equipped with advanced technologies and is reliable in flight. It has an affordable cost. It is an important carrier that features military and civilian integration and will later come to play a bigger role in the military and civilian sectors," Liu added.

The successful test flight marks a major step forward in the feasibility of autonomous aircraft and, after being officially passed as airworthy, the mass production and large-scale deployment of the Feihong 98 is likely to be pushed forward.