(TibetanReview.net, Nov25, 2017) – China said Nov 24 that it had conducted a series of drone and unmanned helicopter flight and firing tests over the Tibetan Plateau over Oct-Nov 2017. The three have applications in counter-terrorism, drug policing, border patrols, meteorology and mapping, said the official Xinhua news agency Nov 24.
It said that on Nov 18, three unmanned helicopters, the AV500W, conducted firing tests at an altitude of 4,300 metres in Qinghai Province, citing Jiangxi provincial office of science, technology and industry for national defence.
The report continued that on Nov 9, the XM20 multi-rotor drone had taken off and landed with a full payload at 4,600 metres above sea level.
And on Oct 31, the AV500 was stated to have climbed to an altitude of 5,006 metres during tests, the maximum reportedly achieved by a domestically-made unmanned helicopter.
The report said the aircraft were developed by a helicopter research and development institute in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, owned by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
