Developer Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) told Xinhua on Tuesday that the front assemblies of the first production batch of the AG600 were delivered on June 30.
The company said mass production of the plane has begun with the delivery of the front fuselage, which took three months to build.
Final assembly of the amphibious aircraft will be carried out by AVIC South China Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of AVIC, in the city of Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province, Xinhua said.
The AG600 was developed to meet the growing demand for emergency rescue aircraft that could be used for searches at sea. Development of the aircraft began in 2014, with its first flight on land in 2017 and at sea in 2020, according to state media reports. Airworthiness tests began this year.
The AG600 is seen as a key project because of the strategic requirement to reach Chinese bases in the South China Sea.
AVIC Chairman Qu Jingwen previously told state media that the amphibious aircraft could take off and land in waves as high as 2 meters (6.6 feet). He said the plane had the endurance to hover for two hours.
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Development of the AG600 has been delayed by technical delays and the COVID-19 pandemic and was originally expected to be ready for delivery by 2022.
As with other Chinese-developed aircraft, the aircraft manufacturer has had to overcome problems with the AG600’s engine, in this case the WJ-6, a turboprop based on the 1950s-era Soviet AI-20 series.
State media have previously reported that 17 AG600s have been ordered, including for the State Oceanic Administration and the China Coast Guard.
