China's new 7-ton cargo drone completes maiden flight

China's first seven-ton cargo drone, the Changying-8, on Tuesday completed its maiden flight successfully in Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province.

It took only 280 meters for the large drone to climb off the ground, before successfully completing the verification of key subjects of various sub-systems such as intelligent flight control, avionics, power fuel, and flight quality.

The Changying-8 is the world's largest unmanned cargo drone to have successfully completed its maiden flight.

"All the sub-systems have been examined and the drone is ready for the maiden flight. The flight today mainly consists of several stages: ground taxiing, takeoff and departure, climbing, cruising, descent, gliding, and landing. The entire flight would last about 30 minutes, with an altitude of 500 meters. For the maiden flight, we prioritize safety, and aim to verify the performance from three aspects. Firstly, the coordination of the system operation, and secondly whether the drone can fly at a certain speed and altitude along the pre-set route. And thirdly, the correctness and coordination of the command and control station's monitoring over the drone," said Shi Lei, technical director in charge of the aircraft with the China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, in an interview ahead of the flight.

Developed independently by China North Industries Groups Corporation, the unmanned cargo drone measures 17 meters in length with a wingspan of 25 meters.

It features an ultra-large cargo hold of 18 cubic meters, capable of accommodating multiple types of standard aviation containers as well as specialized cold-chain storage boxes.

It can complete loading and unloading within 15 minutes, significantly improving logistics turnover efficiency.

The drone boasts a maximum takeoff weight of seven tons, a payload capacity of 3.5 tons, and a range exceeding 3,000 kilometers.

It is capable of high-altitude takeoffs and landings as well as short takeoffs and landings on runways as short as 200 meters, enabling operations in diverse environmental conditions.

The United States lacks the willingness to adapt to the global multipolarization process, said a senior Russian lawmaker at a press conference in Moscow on Monday after concluding a two-day visit to the U.S.

Vyacheslav Nikonov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, made the statement after leading a delegation to visit the U.S. from March 26 to 27.

"What I've sensed is that the United States lacks the willingness to adapt to the multipolarization process. In my view, the U.S. still attempts to engage in global politics in a hegemonic way. Nevertheless, I believe the likelihood of the U.S. maintaining this status has fallen to its lowest level," said Nikonov.

Regarding the Russia-U.S. relations, Nikonov said the two sides can hold dialogue in multiple areas, but there will be no breakthrough in bilateral relations in the near term.