China's amphibious AG600 completes first open water scoop-drop drill

BEIJING -- China's domestically developed AG600 Kunlong aircraft has completed its first scoop-and-drop drill in open water, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) said Thursday.

After flying roughly 190 km, the amphibious aircraft carried out the drill over Songhua Lake in Northeast China's Jilin province, scooping and dropping water in natural conditions — to put every AG600 system to the test.

Previously, such drills were confined to a test flight base in the central Chinese city of Jingmen in Hubei province.

After tanking a 12-tonne load of water at its base, the plane can also skim nine more fills from a lake, enabling it to drop a total of 120 tonnes of water, enough to soak an area of more than 4 hectares with heavy-rain intensity during fire-fighting missions, according to the AVIC.

AG600 has officially entered mass production after receiving its production certification in June. The first three AG600s have completed their acceptance flights and will be delivered to operators by the end of 2025.