Unmanned Chinese freighter

Earlier in the day, China’s homegrown TP500 unmanned freigher completed its maiden flight. The news was revealed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The first flight lasted 27-minutes and AVIC reported that no anomalies were encountered.

AVIC explained that the unmanned freighter will have a maximum range of 1800km. Range will reduce to 500km if the unmanned freighter is loaded to its maximum payload of 500kg. This is China’s first foray into unmanned air cargo vehicles. AVIC did not yet give a timeline as to when the TP500 is likely to enter revenue service.