Industrial drone testing gains dedicated airspace in NE China

SHENYANG - Northeast China's Liaoning province has obtained dedicated airspace for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, at the Shenyang general aviation industry base, local authorities said Monday.

"Industrial drones will be allowed to conduct test flights below an altitude of 3,000 meters in the airspace," said Liu Guoyin, deputy director with the administration committee of the base.

Liu said that the previous drone test flight bases in the country mainly target civilian drones, which are required to fly below 150 meters.

The Shenyang general aviation industry base was built in 2010 in Faku county with an area of 68 square kilometers. It has built facilities such as runways, terminals and parking aprons, attracting 20 aviation firms.

The overall market for drones is expected to reach 75 billion yuan ($11 billion) by 2025 in China, according to an iResearch report last year.

In the booming drone market, researchers and manufacturers need a dedicated place to host test flights for their products. In late August, Shanghai also set up a test flight base for civilian drones.

Liu said the airspace for industrial drones in Shenyang aviation base will help it become an industrial cluster for producers of unmanned vehicles.