China's independently developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has successfully completed all compliance flight tests in the ground takeoff and landing in crosswind conditions, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
The successful crosswind flight tests are significant to further enhancing the AG600's adaptability to complex environments and expanding its operation and application scenario ranges, said AVIC, the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.
Strong crosswinds are inevitable meteorological conditions during aircraft operations. When they are encountered, takeoff and landing become significantly difficult, and equipment malfunction risks rise accordingly.
Two AG600 aircraft recently underwent crosswind compliance flight tests in Xilinhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The results of these tests met requirements, fully verifying the safety and reliability of the AG600 in strong crosswind conditions, AVIC said.
The aircraft's air intake system has passed its compliance flight test, and several other ground tests have been carried out in Xilinhot.
Following these tests, one AG600 aircraft undertook a ferry flight to an airport in Jiagedaqi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. It will be stationed there to serve a forest protection scientific research mission, according to its developer.
The AG600 is the world's largest civil amphibious aircraft in terms of takeoff weight -- a maximum of 60 tons. Notably, it can carry 12 tons of water for firefighting missions.
Although the AG600 obtained its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China last month, which marked its successful development and market entry approval, a full-scale fatigue test on the aircraft is still underway at the Aircraft Strength Research Institute in Xi'an, the capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Fatigue testing is a complicated and lengthy process, the institute told reporters, adding the aircraft will be tested for 15,000 flights.
"We need to make breakthroughs in many key technologies through a large number of preliminary research projects such as civil aircraft researches. We will carry out lots of strength checks and structural optimizations to see if the design meets requirements. If the aircraft is overweight, we will lower its weight by various means such as size optimization and topology optimization while ensuring it meets strength requirements," said Wang Binwen, director of the institute.
China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft completes crosswind flight tests
The Israeli government is set to prohibit 37 international aid organizations from operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank effective Jan 1, 2026, after authorities stated the groups failed to comply with stricter registration requirements, according to an Israeli media report on Tuesday.
The report from The Times of Israel cited the statement from Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, saying that the new regulations are based on security concerns aimed at removing non-government organizations' staff allegedly linked to so-called "terrorist organizations."
The report came after the Israeli government announced the same day that it would suspend the activities of several international aid organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, in the Gaza Strip starting January 1, 2026, citing the organizations' failure to submit information on their Palestinian staff as required.
Last year, Israel rolled out new regulations on registration requiring international aid groups to provide detailed information of their staff's names, funding sources, and operation status.
On Wednesday, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories stated that the registration mandates were necessary to prevent humanitarian supplies from being exploited by Hamas.
In an online interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Wednesday, Bushra Khalidi, policy lead at Oxfam, a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice, said the impact of the ban will be "devastating."
"It is devastating. We've seen the numbers from the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) a few weeks ago. We saw them in the summer. There's been a slight improvement, but that's not good enough for the time of a ceasefire. And six months after the famine was declared, we should have seen much more improvement in Gaza," said Khalidi.
"It's winter here in Palestine. It was raining. It rained a record (amount) of rain per millimeter yesterday in Palestine since 1992. So, the impact is devastating. But the fact that shelter materials, for example, cannot enter. For families, this will mean slower repairs. It will mean fewer supplies. It will mean a longer wait for basic services. It will directly affect the access to clean water, to sanitation, to shelter materials, to public health interventions. Aid that should be moving predictably will remain delayed, it will remain restricted and it will remain stranded," she added.
She also emphasized that the operating environment became nearly impossible for organizations to navigate long before the new ban was announced.
"We have been obstructed and blocked from operating freely and unobstructedly for the last two years by Israel. Israel has killed a record number of humanitarian workers in the last two years. It has bombed our premises, it has bombed our convoys, it has blocked our items. It has driven famine like conditions in Gaza because of blocking humanitarian access. So, I think it's really important to set that scene, is that what is happening now is nothing new. It only continues within the kind of campaign that Israel has orchestrated to drive basically the population of Gazans' survival. So, we are, we have not been able to enter any materials in since March, in fact, us and many other organizations. And of course that has severely restricted our ability to scale up our operations," said Khalidi.
Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, said on Wednesday that Israel's move is no different from cutting off lifesaving supplies for the local population, adding that the European Union has made clear that all obstacles to humanitarian access must be lifted.
Israel bans operations of 37 int'l aid groups in Gaza Strip, West Bank
