View of Tianma-1000 unmanned transport drone. Photo: CCTV

China's domestically developed ton-class unmanned transport aircraft Tianma-1000 completed its maiden flight on Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The aircraft was independently developed by China North Industries Group Corp-affiliated Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group Co. Integrating functions such as logistics transport, emergency rescue, and material delivery, it is China's first medium-altitude, low-cost transport platform that has achieved complex plateau terrain adaptation, ultra-short takeoff and landing distances, and rapid switching between cargo transport and airdrop modes.

The aircraft boasts a maximum payload of 1 ton and a maximum range of 1,800 kilometers. It can also switch quickly via a modular cargo bay, flexibly converting into a material delivery platform to meet diverse mission requirements.

The aircraft's payload capacity is equivalent to the weight of a standard sedan, allowing it to transport a large volume of supplies in a single sortie. In scenarios such as resupplying remote areas, emergency rescue, and urgent material transfers, it can conduct large-scale deliveries, meeting several days' worth of critical needs such as food, medicine, and equipment, thereby addressing material transport challenges in special terrains.

This achievement aligns with China's strategic push to develop its low-altitude economy, which has been identified as a key growth sector in the country. In November 2025, China unveiled a guideline to accelerate the development of application scenarios for new technologies and products, further sending a positive signal of steadily and orderly expanding application scenarios in fields such as the low-altitude economy.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the size of China's low-altitude economy is estimated to have reached 1.5 trillion yuan in 2025 ($214.98 billion) and will exceed 3.5 trillion yuan in 2035.

The Tianma-1000 represents one of several large unmanned cargo aircraft China has developed recently. In March 2025, another domestically developed ton-class unmanned transport aircraft, the TP1000, completed its maiden flight in East China's Shandong Province, according to Xinhua.

On December 10, 2025, Aviation Industry Corp of China's electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft AR-E800 was sent soaring on its first flight in East China's Jiangxi Province.

As of December 30, 2025, a total of 1,081 enterprises had completed registration in this sector, with 3,623 types of products filed and more than 5.29 million units registered, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), CCTV reported on January 4.

MIIT officials said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China will further accelerate technological innovation in the low-altitude equipment industry, strengthen security foundations, continuously improve the industrial standard system, and promote innovative applications of low-altitude equipment in accordance with local conditions.

Global Times