The amphibious AVIC AG600 has demonstrated its ability to rescue the bodies of workers lost at sea, reinforcing its role as a firefighter.
On April 24, AG600 carried out the low-level launch of a rescue raft and a swimmer, according to a video report published through the official Xinhua news agency.
The plane also demonstrated skill in landing and deploying an inflatable speedboat, which “rescued” a swimmer and returned him to the plane. The boat then returned to the hold.
The tests covered issues such as taxiing characteristics in the water and coordination between team members.
“This water rescue demonstration is a vital component of the progression of [the] AG600 to fully enforce the spirit of [Chinese Supreme Leader] Xi Jinping’s vital commands on the aviation industry and the AG600 series and the needs for the emergency structure. rescue systems,” the Xinhua report said.
The procheck was located in the calm waters of the Zhanghe Reservoir in central China’s Hubei Province. Zhanghe Airport, which includes two land runways and a river runway, is a key screening site for the AG600 program.
The tests highlighted the AG600’s roles as a parastatal rescue aircraft. They also demonstrated that the AG600, the world’s largest amphibian, can play a search-and-rescue role in combat, bringing together Chinese pilots and sailors. This capability can also be used to deploy special forces or replenishment troops to atolls in the South China Sea that Beijing has illegally militarized.
In addition, the AG600’s release and recovery functions can also be used to deploy sea mines or types of unmanned surface or underground vehicles.
In March, Xinhua quoted AVIC officials as saying that the AG600 firefighting variant, the AG600M, could get its type certificate by the end of the year.
The AG600 verification program encompassed 4 aircraft, which were produced through China Aviation Industry General Aircraft’s plant at Zhuhai Airport, of the biennial Airshow China event.
The AG600 has a maximum take-off weight of 60 tons, about 50% more than the next largest amphibian, the Shinmaywa US-2.
In its annual report on China’s military, the U. S. Department of Defense highlighted China’s progress with the AG600 as an example of Beijing’s airlift capabilities.
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