AVIC alters drone to aid sea rescues

Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's dominant aircraft maker, has modified one of its unmanned aircraft models into a platform capable of facilitating maritime search and rescue operations.

The Wing Loong 10H — developed based on the Wing Loong 10 high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance drone — is capable of conducting rapid search missions over coastal waters, according to designers at AVIC Chengdu Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System.

Powered by two turbofan engines, the unmanned jet can quickly reach designated areas.

Designers said it is equipped with a high-definition electro-optical pod, a communication signal relay pod, a signal search and positioning pod, and a meteorological sonde pod. It can also be fitted with other rescue equipment in accordance with customer needs.

The high-definition electro-optical pod can detect targets in distress at sea from a long distance in the air, and transmit real-time images back to ground controllers, providing additional information for decision-making. The signal search and positioning pod can quickly determine the location of stranded personnel and ships, while the communication signal relay pod can continuously provide high-bandwidth communication for stranded personnel and ships. The meteorological sonde pod can accurately detect and analyze the weather above sea surfaces, providing meteorological support for rescue operations.

In addition, the Wing Loong 10H can carry an emergency rescue airdrop buoyant pod to deliver and retrieve urgently needed materials and equipment for those in distress, providing valuable time for subsequent rescue operations.

A large mockup of the pilotless jet has been on display at the AVIC hall at the 2025 aviation open-day activities of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, which began on Friday and concludes on Tuesday in Changchun, capital of Jilin province.

According to specs provided by AVIC, the Wing Loong 10H is 9.9 meters long and 3.7 meters tall, with a wingspan of 17.8 meters.

The drone has a maximum takeoff weight of 3.5 metric tons and a top speed of 550 kilometers per hour. It has a maximum operational altitude of 11 km and can carry up to 400 kilograms of mission payloads.

Wu Peixin, an aviation industry observer, said the advantages of drones in maritime search and rescue tasks include short preparation time, long stays over designated places, no pilot-safety concerns and good cost-effectiveness.

"Compared with manned planes, drones are cheaper and expendable, and don't need rest time, which means you can deploy them in bad weather or tough environments without having to worry about operators' safety. They are more suitable for operations such as signal relays and meteorological measurements," he explained.

Before the Wing Loong 10H, AVIC had built several civilian models based on the Wing Loong series armed drones to serve emergency-response, communication relay, weather forecasting and other public service operations.

Contact the writers at zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn