Aerial photo of an intelligent unmanned transport plane. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]
A launch ceremony for Wuhan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Special Aircraft Tech Co was held on Nov 5 at the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WHDZ), which also marked the commencement of a 10-billion-yuan ($1.5 billion) intelligent unmanned transport plane base project.
The base will be built in the General Aviation and Satellite Industrial Park of WHDZ and was invested by the China Special Aircraft Research Institute and Harbin University of Technology Robot Group Wuhan Co. It will mainly produce intelligent unmanned transport planes based on AI transport network control technology.
The project is divided into three phases and will form a comprehensive system covering the research, production, and sales of and services for the unmanned transport plane.
"The first 30 researchers have come to Wuhan to prepare for the project," said Zhao Xiajun, deputy director of the China Special Aircraft Research Institute. The plane to be produced at the base is expected to carry out its first flight in 2024.
According to market estimates, by 2035, the demand for the unmanned transport plane should reach 1,100, bringing in over 100 billion yuan in business.
