(TibetanReview.net, Jul31’26) – China has established a dedicated high-altitude drone research and development centre in Tibet near Mount Everest, aiming to advance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology for border patrols, security, logistics, transport and emergency operations in extreme plateau conditions, reported the PTI new agency Jul 26. And according to the scmp.com Jul 29, it is part of China’s effort to exploit Tibet’s high-altitude advantage in the ongoing competition for technological dominance with the US.
The Plateau Drone R&D Application Centre was inaugurated at Xizang (Tibet) University on July 3, marking the launch of China’s first professional platform exclusively focused on developing and deploying UAVs in high-altitude environments, the reports cited China’s state news agency Xinhua as saying earlier this month.
The launch of the centre is said to come amid intensifying technological rivalry between China and the US, with high-altitude drone operations around Mount Everest increasingly viewed as a testing ground for next-generation UAV capabilities and for supremacy in this field.
In September last year, China launched its first high-altitude uncrewed equipment test base in Ngari (Chinese: Ali) prefecture, a strategically important region in western Tibet bordering India, noted the scmp.com report.
The report cited the Xinhua report as saying the new centre aims to meet Tibet’s urgent need for modern technology. Bordering several countries – including Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Nepal – and holding vast natural resources, Tibet will use the centre’s drones for border patrols, environmental protection, land surveying and remote supply delivery.
The new facility would focus on breaking technical bottlenecks in developing high-altitude drones, while cultivating talent and meeting the operational needs of sectors such as emergency response, transport and border security.
China is already stated to have secured a front-running position in the high-altitude race.
Since 2024, Nepal’s local operator, Airlift Technology, has been deploying heavy-lift drones from Chinese manufacturer DJI to transport climbing supplies to upper camps and haul away garbage and human waste, reducing hazards for local Sherpas.
In another milestone, DJI’s first vertical take-off and landing delivery drone, the DJI EV50, recently reached an altitude above Everest’s northern slope of 8,861 metres (about 29,000 feet) – 12.14 metres higher than the summit, the reports said.
Meanwhile, the United States is actively lobbying for American drone technology, such as Washington state-based Freefly Systems, to enter the market and challenge DJI. It has designated Shenzhen-headquartered DJI as a Chinese military entity, citing data security concerns.
Clearly with China in the back of its mind, Nepal’s home affairs ministry denied the Freefly drone permission to conduct test flights on Everest, citing national security sensitivities and a need to maintain strategic neutrality, said the scmp.com report, citing a report by The Wall Street Journal Jul 27.
Airlift co-founder Milan Pandey has told The Wall Street Journal that he believed Chinese and US drones did not need to be rivals on Everest and could complement each other.