Home-developed ton-class cargo drone completes maiden flight

Tianma-1000, an unmanned ton-class transport aircraft independently developed by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), completed its maiden flight in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Sunday. Developed by NORINCO-affiliated Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group Co., Ltd., the aircraft integrates multiple functions including logistics transport, emergency rescue, and material delivery.

It is China's first medium-altitude, low-cost transport platform capable of adapting to complex plateau terrain, performing ultra-short distance takeoffs and landings, and rapid switching between cargo transport and airdrop modes, filling a critical technological gap in relevant domestic field. "Our team innovatively developed a real-time positioning and fault-tolerant control system, overcoming flight stability challenges in complex air currents on plateau. We broke through integration bottlenecks between optical-guided landing assistance system and short-distance takeoff and landing (STOL) support systems, significantly reducing required takeoff and landing distances. This enables adaptation to extreme terrains like grasslands, effectively enhancing the drone's adaptability in complex environments and multi-task integration capabilities," said Ma Chunhao, chief engineer of the Tianma-1000 project.

The Tianma-1000 has a maximum operating altitude of 8,000 meters, a maximum range of 1,800 kilometers, a minimum takeoff/landing distance of less than 200 meters, and a maximum carrying capacity of one ton.

With a modular cargo bay, it can also be flexibly converted to perform cluster deployment, communication relay and multi-region support.

In special scenarios of natural disasters and emergency rescue operations, the Tianma-1000 can deliver up to one ton of supplies to areas inaccessible by road or rail within half a day without transshipment, significantly enhancing emergency response speed.

In the future, it will be widely deployed in civilian logistics, emergency rescue operations, border defense supply missions, and specialized transport.

"Next, we will leverage the Tianma series of unmanned transport aircraft as a driving force, further transform our technological innovation advantages into industrial strengths and competitive edges, as well as a new engine for local economic growth, so as to contribute to the high-quality development of both the drone industry and the low-altitude sector," said Xue Jianqiang, chairman of the Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group Co., Ltd.

Home-developed ton-class cargo drone completes maiden flight

China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.

The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.

Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.

Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.

The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.

Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.

"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.

China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth