Chinese aerospace firm Air White Whale has completed manufacturing an unmanned cargo aircraft with a maximum payload capacity of five tons that it said is the largest of its kind.
The “W5000” aircraft was rolled off the production line at a Changzhou-located production base on October 18, said Air White Whale in a press release.
The company said its airworthiness application has been accepted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the first aircraft is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026.
As well as a maximum payload capacity of five tons the aircraft has a “maximum take-off weight of 10.8 tons, an effective cargo hold volume of more than 65 cubic meters, and a commercial range of 2,600 km”.
According to Air White Whale, the W5000 uses a traditional turboprop engine, has a wingspan of 22.70 m, a vertical tail of 7.51 m, and a length of 22.89 m.
Alongside autonomous operation, ground crew can monitor six to seven W5000 aircraft at a time.
Air White Whale has not named a launch customer, but a ceremony to mark production of the first aircraft was attended by executives from cargo and logistics firms including JD.com and China Eastern Airlines Logistics, as well as China Post.
Founded in 2021, Air White Whale’s management board comprises former executives from Comac, Airbus China and GE Aviation.
Other global drone/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) companies include US-based Natilus and Bulgaria-headquartered Dronamics.
Natilus is developing a 3.8 ton payload UAV named ‘Kona’. The Californian company is also developing Alisio – a 60-ton payload medium/long range UAV, and Nordes – a 100-ton payload long-range UAV.
Dronamics is developing the ‘Black Swan’ cargo drone, which has a payload of 350 kg and a capacity of 3.5 cu m.
