China confirms first test flights for U8 helo UAV

China could be on the brink of achieving critical mass in the field of unmanned aerial vehicle technology

China's first indigenously developed unmanned helicopter has completed its first series of test flights, state media reported on 20 July.

The U8, developed by the China Helicopter Design Institute under state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), made 29 sorties during 15 days recently, remaining in the air for an aggregate 577 minutes. It reached altitudes of 1,060 m at Tianshui City in Gansu Province and 3,060 m in Xining, Qinghai Province, Xinhua news agency reported.

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