London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

China’s first ship-borne helicopter drone makes maiden flight

China’s first ship-borne helicopter drone makes maiden flight

Lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle could be used by both warships and coastguard vessels in South China and East China seas.

China’s first ship-borne helicopter drone – which could be used as a “scout” on warships and play a role in the coastguard – has made its first test flight, according to its developer.

The AR-500B, a lightweight unmanned helicopter, has been designed for wide-area maritime surveillance and identification for both navy and civilian vessels.

Its maiden flight was successfully completed at a test facility in Jiangxi province, in China’s east, in late November, the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said in a statement.

The drone helicopter carried out take-off, hovering, manoeuvring and landing during the half-hour flight, according to the statement.

t said the drone’s fuel, structure, electronics and avionics systems had been optimised for maritime use so that it could withstand humidity, mould and saltwater. It has also been equipped with guidance and control systems for vertical landing on a ship.

“So overall, the AR-500B drone helicopter will be able to fit into the sea environment and ship-use scenario,” the statement said.

According to a commentary in Chinese defence magazine Ordnance Industry Science Technology on Monday, the drone has been developed to fill an important gap and could be used in a swarm to scout for warships as well as on coastguard vessels in the South China and East China seas.

It said the AR-500B had a far bigger payload and operational range and better endurance than the mini quadcopter drones being used on China’s coastguard vessels – meaning it could be used to expand surveillance and shorten response times including for monitoring and search and rescue efforts, and for “sovereign” patrols.

“It could become the ‘hawk eyes’ for maritime law enforcement,” the commentary said.

The helicopter drone has a top take-off weight of 500kg (1,102lbs) and a mission payload of 70kg (154lbs), its developer said.

It can fly at up to 4,000 metres (13,120ft) at a top speed of 140km/h (86 miles/hour).

The unmanned aerial vehicle could be used by ships to monitor vast areas and identify vessel information – it has an operational range of 100km and can fly for up to four hours, according to the statement.

Developing the lightweight drone has provided valuable technological know-how for the design and production of heavyweight versions to be used on large warships like aircraft carriers and destroyers.

China’s navy in July reportedly carried out the first test flight of a naval version of the CH-5, a fixed-wing reconnaissance and strike drone for its aircraft carriers.

The US Navy is leading development of aircraft carrier-borne fixed-wing drones with its MQ-25 Stingray.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×