China conducted a successful test flight of its first domestically-developed jumbo air freighter, Reuters has reported, citing a report from the Xinhua news agency.
The Yun-20, or Transport-20, is designed to transport both passengers and cargo over long distances.
“The successful maiden flight of Yun-20 is significant in promoting China’s economic and national defense build-up as well as bettering its emergency handling such as disaster relief and humanitarian aid,” Xinhua reportedly said.
The freighter is developed as part of a larger plan to reportedly reduce dependency on foreign firms as the demand for planes and engines rises in China.
At the last China Airshow, 50 new orders for the COMAC C919 passenger jet were unveiled. This increased the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s orders to a total of 380. The plane is due to perform its first test flight in 2014.
Meanwhile, design flaws have delayed approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China for the 90-seat ARJ21 regional passenger jet.
