GUANGZHOU, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft, the AG600, has completed taxiing at low and intermediate speed on the water and will conduct high-speed tests soon.
The AG600, codenamed "Kunlong", successfully finished eight taxiing tests on water at a speed of 80 km per hour and 120 km per hour, totaling 552 minutes in the city of Jingmen, central China's Hubei Province from Sept. 2 to 13, according to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd.
The aircraft has passed a series of tests since its maiden flight last December. The company said that the aircraft will enter high-speed taxiing tests on the water, targeting a speed of 145 km per hour. Designed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, the AG600 is powered by four domestically built turboprop engines and has a range of 12 hours. It will be mainly used for maritime rescue, fighting forest fires and marine monitoring.