China's 50kg-class hydrogen-powered drone sets new domestic record with 30-hour continuous flight [View all]

Photo: From WeChat account of Aviation Industry Corporation of China

China’s 50kg-class hydrogen-powered drone sets new domestic record with 30-hour continuous flight

GlobalTimes | Du Qiongfang | Apr 09, 2025

A 50-kilogram hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by China recently completed a 30-hour continuous flight, setting a new domestic record for similar types of aircraft and reaching an internationally leading level in terms of endurance.

The drone, jointly developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group Co (CAIG) under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate, and Tsinghua University, achieved a breakthrough in the integrated design technology of flight, propulsion and control systems based on the output characteristics of hydrogen fuel cells, AVIC said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to AVIC’s release, during takeoff, the aircraft innovatively adopted an autonomous integrated vehicle-mounted release method with an unmanned system consisting of an unmanned ground vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle. This system successfully demonstrated and validated its operational capabilities under non-standard runway conditions.

...Industry insiders added that compared with traditional lithium battery-powered drones, hydrogen energy systems offer higher energy density, longer endurance and zero carbon emissions – perfectly aligning with the needs of green aviation development. The achievement of 30-hour continuous flight capability means that this drone can cover a wider operational range and perform more complex tasks, providing essential hardware support for the expansion of low-altitude economy application scenarios...more
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202504/1331772.shtml

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