Chinese language aerospace agency Air White Whale has done manufacturing an unmanned cargo plane with a most payload skill of 5 tonnes that it stated is the greatest of its kind.
The first W5000 rolled off the company’s manufacturing line within the eastern Chinese language metropolis of Changzhou on 18 October.
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Based on Air White Whale, the plane has a payload of 5t, with a most snatch-off weight of 10.8t. The W5000 – numbered as such for its payload – can function at a most differ of two,600km, with a cruising race of as much as 284kts (526 km).
It aspects a excessive-waft invent and is powered by two turboprop engines. Air White Whale would no longer checklist the engine form on its web space, but media experiences indicate the plane has two AEP-100 engines from the train-owned Aero Engine Company of China.
“The W5000 is relevant with traditional cargo pallets, adapts to various loading and unloading systems, and can snatch off and land at overall aviation airports and civil aviation airports,” Air White Whale states.
It touts its plane as a “solution” for the wants of the fresh cargo sector, noting that the unmanned nature of the W5000 reduces manpower necessities. Based on Air White Whale, one pilot can video display as much as 5 unmanned plane at a time.
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The company has submitted certification documents to Chinese language regulators and expects to instruct its first plane within the 2nd half of of 2026.
Air White Whale has no longer named a open buyer, but the disclosing ceremony on 18 October changed into attended by a lot of presidency officials, apart from to executives from cargo and logistics corporations love JD.com, China Japanese Airways Logistics, apart from to China Post.
Based in 2021, Air White Whale is backed by the train-linked Changzhou Excessive-tech Jinlong investment agency. Its management board is constituted of broken-down executives from Comac, Airbus China, and GE Aviation.
