Large cargo drone makes maiden flight

A new large, unmanned cargo plane developed by Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation, a private drone maker, made its debut flight on Sunday in Zigong, Sichuan province.

The new drone model, which has yet to be named, took off at 11:30 am from Zigong Fengming General Aviation Airport and flew for 20 minutes before returning to the airport. The flight verified the model's overall design and capability, according to Tengden, one of the country's major manufacturers of large drones.

With a length of 13.9 meters and a wingspan of 16.1 meters, the new drone is able to fly as far as 2,000 kilometers and reach an altitude of 7 km. It has 12 cubic meters of inner space available for cargo and can carry up to 2 metric tons. Those specifications make it one of the largest transport drones ever built in China.