Aviation China: First Regular Logistics Route with an Unmanned Cargo Drone

On board were only around 200 kilos of blueberry juice and a couple of express packages, but the flight made history. The unmanned, autonomously flying drone of the "CarryAll V2000CG" type completed its first commercial operation on September 18, 2025.

A regular, unmanned drone cargo route has been launched with the flight, connecting the blueberry growing region around Huaining County in Anhui Province with Hefei, the provincial capital, which has a large market for agricultural products. The 161-kilometer flight took one hour, according to the China Daily. It was described as a milestone in the development of China's "low-altitude economy" in logistics, particularly for the low-altitude economy involving large cargo drones. The blueberry eVTOL weighs two tons and can transport up to 400 kilograms of cargo.

Developed by the startup AutoFlight, founded in Shanghai in 2019, it is the first drone of this size (weighing more than one ton) worldwide to successfully receive approval from regulatory authorities for regular, commercial cargo flights, in this case from the Chinese aviation authority CAAC.

eVTOL Ideal for Logistics Sector

The eVTOL combines the advantages of a helicopter, as it can take off and land vertically even when fully loaded and requires little space, with those of a fixed-wing aircraft, enabling it to reach a travel speed of 200 km/h and a range of 200 kilometers, as reported by the Chinese science newspaper Keji Ribao.

In August, the same drone had already made headlines when it landed on an offshore oil rig anchored about 150 kilometers from Shenzhen in the South China Sea. This flight took 58 minutes, and Chinese media emphasized that the delivery of fresh fruit for the crew, emergency medical supplies, and other goods for the platform would normally be carried out by ship and take around ten hours.

This was still a test flight, jointly conducted by the "China National Offshore Oil Corporation" (CNOOC), CITIC Offshore Helicopter, and Autoflight. However, the large unmanned drone is said to be cheaper in the long term than helicopters, which are used alongside boats to supply such oil and gas platforms, the Global Times quoted an employee of the flight operator. Additionally, the e-drones operate emission-free and have such a short response time that they surpass any helicopter crew in speed during emergencies, according to the operator.

Tourist Sightseeing Flights

In addition to logistics for the transport of agricultural and other goods and for supply flights to oil rigs, drones in China are increasingly being used for tourist sightseeing flights this year. In Shenyang in northern China, initial test flights have been conducted for this purpose. The Jiangxi province has started offering tourist flights on the "Ganpo Air Corridor."

Several manufacturers in China are currently moving past the testing phase and starting to conduct business with their drones both domestically and internationally. For example, "Guizhou Scenic Tourism Development Co., Ltd." placed an order for 50 EH216-S drones from EHang Intelligent in June, according to the Chinese trade portal Dianzi Gongcheng Shijie.

Ehang was the first manufacturer to receive a license for "manned eVTOL flight services for end consumers" and also drew attention at this year's "Paris Air Show." Its EH216-S, like Autoflight's two-ton device, is powered entirely by electricity. Ever-improving batteries, especially solid-state batteries and their predecessors ("semi-solid"), are enabling increasingly longer ranges and the transport of ever-larger payloads.

The Chinese government in Beijing is heavily investing in the low-altitude economy, seeing "great potential," as the government-affiliated Global Times also commented. This also applies to exports. Startup TCAB Tech (Shidi Keji) announced in mid-July that it will sell 350 of its "E20" drones to operator Autocraft in the United Arab Emirates. A corresponding memorandum of understanding for the deal has been signed by both sides. It is reported to have a total value of one billion US dollars, according to the Global Times. (se)

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