Largest UAV testing area gets approval

Workers with the Hebei Aviation Investment Low Altitude Industry Development Co assemble two drones at the Shijiazhuang Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park in Luancheng district of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. Covering an area of approximately 600 square kilometers in various districts and counties in Shijiazhuang, the UAV test flight area spans 25 km in length and 23 km in width, with a maximum flying altitude of 4,000 meters, surpassing the usual 3,000-meter altitude limit of typical test flight areas, according to Guo Ruigang, deputy director of the Administrative Committee of the Shijiazhuang Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park in Luancheng district. The zone beneath the test flight area is primarily mountainous with low population density, making it ideal for companies to conduct UAV flight tests, according to Chen Chen, chairman of Hebei Aviation Investment Low Altitude Industry Development Co. Zhang Minghui, chief engineer of CAIGA North China Aircraft Industry Co, added that the area is suitable for both unmanned and manned aircraft, facilitating various industries in the low-altitude economic scope, such as aviation emergency rescue, air transport, artificial weather modification, low-altitude tourism, pilot training and the testing of large industrial-grade UAVs. Currently, the Hebei Aviation Investment Low Altitude Industry Development Co has collaborated with China Mobile to conduct UAV medical supply transportation projects at local hospitals in Shijiazhuang, accumulating a total flight distance of 25,000 km.