First amphibious flight for AG600M

The prototype of the Chinese AVIC AG600M ‘Kunlong’ firefighting aircraft, registered as B-ODCC made its first flight from water on 29 August 2022.

The amphibious aircraft taxied into the water from the airport of Zhanghe in Jingmen, Hubei Province, and took off from the water surface. After a successful eighteen minutes testflight, during which several systems and procedures were tested, the machine landed again in the Zhanghe Reservoir. For the occasion B-ODCC had received a civilian firefighting livery.

The prototype AG600M made its first flight from land already on 31 May 2022 from Zuhai. The ‘M’ version is the latest, improved version of the earlier AG600. In its new configuration the firefighting aircraft AG600M has an increased (60 tons versus the 53 tons of the original AG600) Maximum Take-off Weight, and a capacity for 12 metric tons of water, in addition to a longer range.

AVIC also installed a pressure cabin, fly-by-wire flight controls, integrated avionics, and other firefighting-related systems. The firm said that the first AG600M would be able to serve in firefighting missions in 2023.

While AVIC and Chinese media have emphasized the AG600M's emergency-response role, its size and amphibious capability have drawn attention to its potential military uses, such as combat search-and-rescue and carrying troops and supplies to far-flung bases.

China’s all too clear ambitions in the Pacific have even prompted the US to consider acquiring their own long range amphibian aircraft. An old design came of the shelf: US Air Force Special Operations Command has already started a rapid prototyping effort to develop ‘a removable amphibious float modification’ for its workhorse MC-130J.

This spring, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency issued a notice for its ‘Liberty Lifter’ program, which aims to ‘design, build, and flight test an affordable, innovative, and disruptive seaplane’ that can sustain ground-effect flight at altitudes less than 100 feet above the water and fly at altitudes up to 10,000 feet above sea level.

Sources: AVIC, Business Insider
Photos: AVIC