AG600 Amphibious Aircraft Wins Type Certification
The certification, officially issued on April 11, follows 16 years of development since the project's approval in 2009.
China has marked a major milestone with the AG600 amphibious aircraft receiving its Type Certificate (TC) from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) during a ceremony on April 20.
Developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the AG600 'Kunlong' is now certified under China’s civil aviation regulations — meeting the provisions of CCAR-21.25 and CCAR-25 — as the world’s largest civil amphibious aircraft by takeoff weight.
The TC, officially issued on April 11, follows 16 years of development since the project's approval in 2009.
The TC application was submitted in 2012; in 2013, the CAAC assigned the Shanghai Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center to oversee the certification process.
Assembled in July 2016, the aircraft completed its first land-based flight in December 2017. It went on to perform its first water-based flight in October 2018, followed by its first sea-based flight in July 2020.
These flights confirmed the AG600's ability to operate on land, inland water, and at sea.
In 2023, a joint review team was formed to accelerate the certification process. On July 23, 2024, the Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) was signed, officially starting the certification flight-test phase.
By February 2025, all certification flight tests were completed, covering development, compliance, and certification testing.
During this phase, the AG600 completed 2,167 sorties and 4,931 flight hours, verifying compliance with 353 airworthiness standards, AVIC said.
To support research and development, a nationwide team was formed, involving 22 provincial-level regions, 296 enterprises and institutions, and 16 universities.
The team established a “small core, big collaboration” model, creating a comprehensive system for the design, manufacturing, system integration, testing, flight testing, and service support of large amphibious aircraft, the company added.
Video: AVIC
Designed for missions such as firefighting and maritime rescue, the AG600 is China’s first large amphibious aircraft developed in accordance with CCAR-25 civil airworthiness standards.
According to available data, it has a maximum takeoff weight of 60 tons (132,000 pounds), a fuselage length of 37 meters (121 feet), a wingspan of 38.8 meters (127 feet), a height of 12.1 meters (40 feet), and a maximum range of 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles).
The aircraft has a top speed of 460 km/h (286 mph), a minimum level-flight speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), and a service ceiling of 7,600 meters (24,934 feet).
The AG600 is equipped with a single-hull design, high-wing layout, T-tail, and retractable tricycle landing gear.
It can take off and land on both runways and water surfaces that are at least 1,500 meters long (4,921 feet), 200 meters wide (656 feet), and 2.5 meters deep (8.2 feet), and can handle waves up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) high.
Powered by four domestically produced WJ-6 turboprop engines, each generating 3,805 kW (5,103 horsepower), the aircraft uses six-blade composite propellers.
Its avionics system was developed domestically by the Shanghai Avionics Research Institute, integrating 23 subsystems and 169 devices.
The firefighting variant, the AG600M, can collect 12 tons (26,455 pounds) of water in just 20 seconds and drop it over an area of 4,000 square meters (43,056 square feet).
For rescue operations, the aircraft can carry up to 50 people, is equipped with emergency medical facilities, and has a rescue range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles). It can reach maritime areas up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away within two hours.
According to AVIC, the AG600 program has helped China fill a strategic gap in large amphibious aircraft, improve emergency aviation rescue capabilities, and advance the localization of civil aviation manufacturing.
It has also promoted independent innovation across the aircraft industry’s supply chain and nurtured talent in key areas such as engineering, digital manufacturing, agile flight testing, and certification.
Chinese media reports indicate that AVIC aims to obtain the production certificate for the AG600 by the end of August 2025 and plans to deliver the aircraft by October 2025.