The Ministry of Emergency Management took delivery of two new aircraft for its fleet on Monday – the first large fixed-wing planes for aerial firefighting in China.
Built by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the multi-use aircraft are a variant of the Xian MA60 known as Xinzhou 60 – or Modern Ark 60.
They can carry up to 6 tonnes of water or transport 28 firefighters or 3.7 tonnes of cargo, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the planes could be used for multiple tasks including water drops, fire monitoring, communications command and transport.
The ministry said the aircraft would expand its disaster relief capabilities given that they can operate over long distances and can be used to transport water, workers and cargo. They will be deployed with other aircraft in the emergency rescue fleet including helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
It took AVIC three years to develop the new planes, the ministry said. The aircraft are equipped with a system to observe the fire situation and a precision system to deliver fire retardants, both developed in China.
The ministry noted the home-grown aerodynamic design of the aircraft as well as the design of its pressure tank for water drops.
The MA60 is an improved version of the Xian Y7-200A, which was based on the Soviet-era Antonov An-24, built for rugged conditions with limited ground support and short take-off and landing capability.
State-owned AVIC last month said another firefighting aircraft in development – the AG600 Kunlong – had begun airworthiness certification test flights with the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The large amphibious aircraft, which can scoop and drop water on wildfires, is expected to be certified this year, with deliveries from 2025.
The AG600 Kunlong has about double the capacity of the Xinzhou 60. According to AVIC, it can collect up to 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds during a firefighting mission. It can also be used to retrieve up to 50 people at sea during a search and rescue mission.
There were 204 wildfires recorded in China in the first half of this year, a record low according to a ministry report in July. But it said the wildfire risk in the north, northeast and southwest of the country remained high.
The ministry said three grassland fires were reported in the first half, all of them in the Inner Mongolia region, in April and May.
In April, five people in southwestern Guizhou province were jailed for up to 18 months for negligence that caused wildfires.
