In this undated photo, leading courier SF Express displays its drone at an information technology exhibition in in Nantong, Jiangsu province of China. (XU CONGJUN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Shenzhen-based delivery and logistics company SF Express announced on Tuesday that the mainland government has approved regional trial operations for certain drones operated by the company’s logistics drone subsidiary. 

The Civil Aviation Administration of China’s approval of the plan makes the subsidiary firm, SF UAS, the first company in the nation that can carry out a commercial trial run on regional routes of long-endurance drones with large loading volumes. 

SF Express said the first trial operation will start in three airports, in Shaanxi province and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. The trials will take place in sparsely populated regions. 

SF Express' first trial operation will start in three airports, in Shaanxi province and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions 

The type of unmanned aircraft approved is the FH-98, which can fly a distance of up to 1,200 kilometers at a speed of 180 km per hour. Its payload is up to 1.5 metric tons and the maximum volume is 15 cubic meters — one of the largest of its kind in the country. 

SF Express said large drones are an important part of its three-phase air transport network — large manned aircraft for main routes, large drones for supporting lines, and small delivery drones for short-distance delivery to individual recipients. 

According to the latest report of Shenzhen-listed SF Express, its total revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was 47.52 billion yuan ($7.52 billion), up 23.53 percent year-on-year. 

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com