China's AG600 large amphibious aircraft obtains type certificate

China's independently developed AG600 large amphibious firefighting aircraft on Sunday obtained its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Beijing, marking its successful development and approval to enter the market.

It is a milestone of China's development capabilities in the large special-purpose aircraft sector and the civil aircraft manufacturing industry, said the aircraft developer Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading aircraft manufacturer.

AG600 is China's first large civil special-purpose aircraft developed in accordance with the requirements of the civil aviation airworthiness regulations.

It is a type of major aeronautical equipment developed to meet the urgent needs of the national emergency rescue system and the national natural disaster prevention and control system, safeguarding the safety of people's lives and property.

AG600 is the world's largest civil amphibious aircraft regarding takeoff weight. Its successful development also fills China's gap in the large-sized amphibious aircraft sector, according to the AVIC.

Its size is slightly larger than that of the mainstream single-aisle airliners currently in the market. It has a length of 38.9 meters, a height of 11.7 meters, and a wingspan of 38.8 meters, according to data from the developer.

AG600 has a maximum takeoff weight of 60 tons, with a maximum practical range of 4,500 kilometers. Notably, it can carry as much as 12 tons of water for fire-fighting missions.

"Its obtaining of the type certificate issued by the CAAC manifests that China can independently develop the world's latest generation of large civil amphibious aircraft," AG600 series aircraft chief designer Huang Lingcai told Xinhua at an exclusive interview.

China's vast territory features diverse and complex terrain, which requires a large special-purpose aircraft capable of serving firefighting and other emergency rescue missions nationwide.

"AG600 is a plane that can swim and a ship that can fly," said Huang.

It 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 sideways during its taxiing on the water surface to ensure safety.

AG600 has a minimum level flight speed of 220 km per hour, a minimum operating flight altitude of 30 to 50 meters above the treetops, and a designed service ceiling of 7,600 meters above sea level, according to data from the developer.

It can fly slowly at low altitudes and at a slow speed over a forest fire scene to help extinguish the fire by dropping a large amount of water.

According to Huang, its development was combined with the requirements of large aircraft, its waterborne characteristics, and its domestic production.

The complexity of its development, tests and verification makes AG600 a "tough nut to crack" in the history of the country's civil aircraft manufacturing and airworthiness certification sectors.

"Its successful development marked a great collaboration and breakthrough, attributed to the country's new system concentrating nationwide effort and resources on key national sci-tech undertakings," said Huang.

A total of 22 Chinese cities and provinces, 292 enterprises and public institutions, and 16 universities nationwide participated in the AG600 aircraft development, enabling the aircraft to have all of its airframe structure, engines, and key systems independently developed in China.

Since its development was initiated in 2009, the AG600 aircraft has gone through a development process over 15 years. AG600 successfully completed its maiden flight in 2017, the first take-off from a reservoir in 2018, and the maiden flight over the sea in 2020. In 2023, AG600 was capable of carrying out fire-fighting tasks.

The AG600 aircraft has accumulated innovative practices in standards and technologies for China's civil aircraft airworthiness certification sector, according to the AVIC.

It set a new performance record for the flight test sector of China's self-developed civil aircraft. Also, it has established Chinese independent compliance verification methods and certification standards, especially for large civil amphibious aircraft.

The AVIC disclosed that it is endeavoring to obtain the production certificate for the AG600 aircraft by the end of August and realize its delivery in October this year.

Looking ahead, the AVIC is committed to boosting the continuous upgrading and serialized development of the AG600 aircraft family and promoting the operational capabilities of the country's aeronautical emergency rescue equipment, the AVIC said.