China's Unmanned Helicopter, Capable of Landing on Ships, Completes its First Flight

The first flight of the unmanned helicopter, which was developed by the China Aviation Industry (AVIC) Helicopter Institute and capable of landing on ships, was successfully completed in Poyang city of Jiangxi province.

Designed and developed according to the needs of the potential user, the AR-500CJ type unmanned helicopter, which is an unmanned helicopter platform capable of landing on ships, inherited the technical achievements of the AR-500BJ, comprehensively improved the flight performance and mission capabilities of the platform, and realized a number of technological breakthroughs.

AVIC launched the AR-500 series, the project to adapt the ship platform in 2017. The last successful flight showed the satisfactory completion of the project. Experts said that light ship-type unmanned helicopters such as the AR-500BJ can be used for both military and civilian applications such as maritime search and rescue, patrol and investigation. In December 2020, the AR-500B, China's first domestically developed ship-borne light helicopter drone, aimed to fill the lack of a type of ship-based light helicopter drone.