China’s JD.com has rolled out its first large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at Pucheng airport, Shaanxi province. It has been stated that the UAV will be used for the company’s cargo deliveries.
This particular UAV has been named as the JDY-800 which has a wing-span of 10 meters. It can cruise at altitudes of 3,000 meters at speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour. Also, the JDY-800 can carry up to 840 kilograms’ cargo during its flight.
The company had planned to develop a large-scale UAV in June when CEO Liu Qiangdong announced the plan through a social media post. And now, it has become a reality. Since then, the JDY-800 has gone through 5 months of manufacturing, assembling and testing. It must be noted that the company has produced the aircraft itself.
“The larger drones can also ferry goods in other direction. For example, farmers on the outskirts of a community can quickly ship vegetables and fruits to the downtown, which will cut down 70 percent of their logistics costs,” said Liu Qiangdong.
Drone delivery is being employed by numerous e-commerce and logistics companies around the world. However, they are mainly focused on small packages.