This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving production certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday.
The production certificate confirms the applicant's quality system meets airworthiness regulations and ensures consistent production that adheres to design standards, said an expert from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the aircraft developer and the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.
Slightly larger than mainstream single-aisle airliners, the AG600 measures 38.9 meters in length, 11.7 meters in height and 38.8 meters in wingspan, a size comparable to that of the Boeing 737.
The AG600 boasts a maximum takeoff weight of 60 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of 40 to 50 passenger cars, making it the world's largest amphibious civilian aircraft by takeoff weight. It is designed for a maximum practical range of 4,500 kilometers.
"The AG600 is a plane that can swim and a ship that can fly," Huang Lingcai, chief designer of the AG600 series, told Xinhua in a previous interview.
The aircraft features a unique configuration consisting of an integrated aircraft-shaped upper body and a ship-bottom-shaped lower body. On each side of its huge wing, there is a float over 4 meters long to prevent the aircraft from overturning when it taxis on the water surface to ensure safety.
Also, it features a sleek, elongated fuselage that is narrow at the ends and wider in the middle, resembling a dragon boat. This design reduces air resistance during high-speed flight and enhances stability while skimming across water.
FIREFIGHTING TASKS
The AG600's amphibious capabilities enable it to swiftly shuttle between water sources and fire sites, making it a powerful tool for forest firefighting.
The aircraft is equipped with a "water-scooping bucket" on its belly. By simply skimming across the water surface, the aircraft can fill up to 12 tonnes of water in just 20 seconds, before heading for firefighting operations.
Water dropped from the plane can cover an area of approximately 3,000 to 4,000 square meters, equivalent to 10 standard basketball courts.
If necessary, the aircraft can release all 12 tonnes of water in just 4 seconds, accurately targeting the fire. Such a "localized downpour" can suppress the fire as effectively as 300 firefighters working with hoses for two hours.
The AG600 boasts a 1,500-kilometer rescue radius and a low-altitude cruising speed of 480 kilometers per hour.
These capabilities allow it to reach the scene of an incident in the shortest possible time after receiving a mission, making its rescue efficiency tenfold that of traditional rescue vessels.
With its ability to carry up to 50 people per mission, the AG600 provides China with an effective solution for conducting medium and long-range maritime rescue operations.
HOME-GROWN PROJECT
The AG600's development involved hundreds of supporting units and tens of thousands of components, showcasing China's comprehensive capabilities in collaborative design and manufacturing, supply chain management, and process consistency control for large special-purpose aircraft.
This progress has laid down replicable management experience and technical standards for future domestic large special-purpose aircraft projects.
An AVIC expert highlighted that the AG600's successful development has forged China's core technology system for large amphibious aircraft, pioneering a "small core, large collaboration" development model. It has also established a complete framework covering design, production, system integration, flight testing and support services.
This milestone equips China with the technological and industrial capacity to independently develop large amphibious aircraft, marking a historic breakthrough in the country's civil aviation sector for large special-purpose aircraft.
AVIC experts stated that future efforts will prioritize China's emergency rescue and natural disaster prevention needs, advancing the AG600's serialized development, enhancing the aviation emergency rescue service network, and building a comprehensive rescue equipment system with the AG600 at its core.
In addition, the AG600 is designed with a modular approach, allowing it to be easily adapted for a variety of missions, including maritime surveillance, resource exploration, and transportation to and from islands and reefs.
Since its development was initiated in 2009, the AG600's development process has seen it successfully complete its maiden flight in 2017, the first take-off from a reservoir in 2018, and a maiden flight over the sea in 2020. In 2023, AG600 was capable of carrying out fire-fighting tasks.
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the final assembly line for AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the final assembly line for AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the final assembly line for AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
The production license for AG600 aircraft is issued at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, June 11, 2025.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
This photo taken on June 11, 2025 shows the final assembly line for AG600 aircraft at AVIC General Huanan Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.
China's domestically developed AG600 "Kunlong" amphibious aircraft has officially entered mass production after receiving the production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
