China’s AG600 amphibious aircraft enters mass production as it receives it production certification from the CAAC.
China’s domestically-developed AG600 “Kunlong” amphibious aircraft has officially moved into large-scale production after receiving its production certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Wednesday.
The production certificate verifies that the aircraft manufacturer’s quality control system complies with airworthiness standards, ensuring all planes produced will consistently meet approved design criteria, according to an expert from Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the aircraft’s developer.
Larger than most single-aisle commercial jets, the AG600 is 38.9 meters long, 11.7 meters tall, and has a wingspan of 38.8 meters, as per specifications shared by AVIC.
The aircraft can take off with a maximum weight of 60 tonnes and fly up to 4,500 kilometers. It can carry 12 tonnes of water, making it highly effective for aerial firefighting.
Chief designer Huang Lingcai previously told Xinhua that the AG600 is “a plane that can swim and a ship that can fly,” highlighting its amphibious capabilities.
The aircraft’s design features a hybrid structure—an upper body shaped like a conventional plane and a lower hull resembling a ship. It also has 4-meter-long floats on each wing to maintain stability while moving on water.
The AG600’s development process relied on extensive collaboration, involving hundreds of supporting units and thousands of parts. This reflects China’s advanced capabilities in managing complex projects for large, special-purpose aircraft.
This progress has also created replicable models for project management and technical processes, which can guide future large aircraft development in China.
An AVIC expert emphasized that developing the AG600 has helped China establish a core technological framework for large amphibious aircraft, using a “small core, large collaboration” model. The project now includes a full ecosystem from design to after-sales support.
The successful development of the AG600 represents a major step forward for China’s civil aviation industry, giving it the independent capability to design and produce large amphibious aircraft.
Looking ahead, AVIC experts said the focus will be on adapting the AG600 for national emergency rescue and disaster relief operations. This includes expanding its variants and integrating it into a comprehensive rescue and response system.
Since work began in 2009, the AG600 has completed multiple key milestones: its first flight in 2017, a reservoir takeoff in 2018, a sea takeoff in 2020, and firefighting trials in 2023.
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