China uses 22,000 unmanned aerial vehicles to build a "low-altitude sky network" for highways

China's unmanned aerial vehicles are about to start large-scale commercial use.

On October 20, Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Shandong Hi-Speed Group) subsidiary Shandong Hi-Speed Urban and Rural Development Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Urban and Rural Development Group) issued a product and technology cooperation unit solicitation announcement, soliciting enterprises and institutions with R&D, production, sales and control capabilities across the country to cooperate in building a "low-altitude sky network".

It is reported that the demand target for trunk aircraft models involved in this solicitation is no less than 2,000, and the demand target for regional aircraft models involved is no less than 20,000.

The announcement shows that in order to accelerate the development of low-altitude economy in Shandong Province, implement the major strategic deployment of low-altitude development of Shandong Expressway Group, and build a provincial "low-altitude sky network" based on existing infrastructure, the Urban and Rural Development Group plans to rely on the 7059 kilometers of expressway network, supporting service areas, toll stations, urban office buildings, industrial parks, etc. operated and managed by Shandong Expressway Group in Shandong Province to improve the low-altitude economic foundation and support facilities, build "trunk lines" between cities and "branch lines" between urban areas and towns, and gradually form a comprehensive coverage of the province, county (city), township (town), community between the intelligent low-altitude transportation system, form a "low-altitude sky network", provide social sharing and guarantee operation needs, and serve the development of urban and rural economy in Shandong Province.

It is reported that the direction of this partner solicitation is mainly divided into two categories:

One is the low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle research and development, production and supply units that can meet the construction needs of the "low-altitude sky network";

The second is the unmanned flight service guarantee system research and development and operation units that can meet the operation needs of the "low-altitude sky network".

The solicitation announcement also disclosed the basic requirements and quantity of related aircraft:

The mainline aircraft models are electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and multi-rotor aircraft (hybrid or hydrogen), with an estimated demand of no less than 2,000 aircraft, which are used to connect low-altitude routes within the province and between cities, and require longer endurance and larger loads;

The branch line aircraft models are electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and multi-rotor aircraft (hybrid or hydrogen), with an estimated demand of no less than 20,000 aircraft, mainly to meet low-altitude routes between cities, public places, communities and other operations.

The solicitation announcement also mentioned the technical parameter requirements for the two types of aircraft.

Taking trunk aircraft as an example, the requirements are:

The payload is not less than 50 kg and is equipped with a detachable cargo hold;

The range is not less than 80 kilometers and supports relay flight;

The cruising speed is not less than 100 kilometers per hour, and the maximum wind speed is not more than 15 meters per second;

Support any one of Beidou, Galileo and GPS, and support single Beidou mode;

Equipped with data security functions and support remote real-time video broadcast, and can realize drone control and image video transmission through 4G/5G modules.

As early as April 2024, the Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Low-Altitude Economy in Shandong Province (2024-2026)" for comments. It proposed that by 2026, the province's low-altitude economic service guarantee level will be the leading in the country, the innovation ability will be world-class, the application scenarios will be rich and diverse, and the industrial level will leap forward. It will become an important source of innovation and development of the national low-altitude economy, and the low-altitude economic industry will become an important growth pole for the high-quality development of the province's economy.