Chongqing Launches Demonstration of Low-Altitude Economy Advancements

Chongqing - Aerospace Times Low Altitude Technology Co., Ltd. recently conducted a real-time airspace conversion and safety test at Da’an General Aviation Airport in Yongchuan District, Chongqing. 

This event marks a key milestone in the development of Chongqing’s low-altitude economy, paving the way for safer and more efficient low-altitude flight management.

Drones were lined up before they took flight. (Photo/Aerospace Times Low Altitude Technology)

Aerospace Times Low Altitude Technology was established in Chongqing on November 19, 2024. It is 40% owned by Chongqing Bashan Instruments Co., Ltd. and 60% by China Aerospace Times Electronics Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. According to official reports, the company is a strategic entity in the Group’s low-altitude economy plan and is responsible for transforming aerospace technology into the low-altitude sector.

During the trial, the company verified four key technologies: digital airspace management, simulation validation of low-altitude safety integration, real-time high-density flight control, and integrated airspace management and safety control. According to the onsite project leader, these technologies provide assurance for the safety and efficiency of low-altitude flights in Chongqing and are expected to become a model for the development of the low-altitude economy nationwide.

Aerospace Times Low Altitude Technology plans to further promote the development of Chongqing's low-altitude economy. In the future, the company will establish a low-altitude industry test base at Da’an General Aviation Airport, enhance low-altitude infrastructure, expand application scenarios, and strive to make Chongqing a leading demonstration zone for China's low-altitude economy.

The rapidly growing "low-altitude economy" in China refers to the economic activities derived from the low-altitude flight operations of manned or unmanned aerial vehicles. These include the development and manufacturing of aircraft, commercial operations, and infrastructure construction. In 2024, the "low-altitude economy" was included in the annual government work report and received national endorsement.

Li Jian, former Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, pointed out in November 2023 that according to World Bank statistics, the economic scale of China's current civil aviation high-altitude transport network is 17 trillion yuan (USD 2.34 trillion). 

Given that China is roughly the same size as the United States in land area, the low-altitude network’s economic scale is estimated to be 3.2 times that of the high-altitude network, meaning China's low-altitude economy could reach up to 50 trillion yuan. However, the latest statistics from the CAAC and the Federal Aviation Administration show that by the end of 2023, the number of registered general aviation aircraft in China stood at 3,303, less than 2% of the total in the United States.