China’s New AG600 Amphibious Airplane Plans for Sea Trials

外媒：中国AG600型两栖飞机计划海上试飞

Date:2020-04-11 Source:defencetalk By:Globalmil Viewed:

The AG600, China’s large amphibious airplane that will be capable of covering all of the South China Sea, is preparing in Hubei Province to conduct its first maritime test flight this year as planned, despite the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic.
尽管有新型冠状病毒性肺炎（COVID-19）流行，但中国AG600型大型两栖飞机，将能够覆盖整个南海，它正在湖北省按计划今年进行其首次海上试飞。

The AG600 is undergoing status adjustment and design optimization in Jingmen, Hubei, as all members of its development team at state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) have returned to work after the epidemic in the province began to ease, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
AG600正在湖北荆门市进行状态调整和设计优化，原因是该省的疫情开始缓解后，中国国有航空工业集团（AVIC）的所有开发团队成员已恢复工作，中央电视台（CCTV）周一报道。

“The aircraft is ready to start test flight subject training,” Lu Yang, deputy head of the Zhuhai base test flight center under AVIC’s subsidiary China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co, told CCTV.
中航工业的子公司中航工业通用飞机公司珠海基地试飞中心副主任鹿杨（ Lu Yang）告诉中央电视台：“飞机已经准备好开始试飞科目训练。”

It is scheduled to make its maiden flight at sea this year, CCTV reported.
据中央电视台报道，该飞机定于今年在海上首飞。

Sea-based test flights are more challenging than those conducted over land, lakes or rivers because of factors like the complexity of the sea situation and the corrosive ocean environment, a military expert told the Global Times on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
周二一位军事专家在不愿透露姓名的情况下对《环球时报》表示，由于诸如海洋形势的复杂性和腐蚀性海洋环境等因素，与在陆地，湖泊或河流上进行的水上试飞相比，挑战性更大。

The AG600 conducted its land-based maiden flight in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province, in December 2017 and its first water-based test flight over a reservoir in Jingmen in October 2018, reports said.
据报道，AG600型于2017年12月在中国南方的广东省珠海市进行了陆上首次飞行，并于2018年10月在荆门市的水库上进行了首次水上试验飞行。

A sea-based test flight will be another milestone in the plane’s development, and the COVID-19 outbreak does not seem to have had any major impact on the project, the expert said.
专家说，海上试飞将是飞机发展的另一个里程碑，而COVID-19的爆发似乎并未对该项目产生任何重大影响。

The amphibious aircraft is expected to be delivered by 2022, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
据新华社报道，两栖飞机预计将于2022年交付。

About the size of a Boeing 737, the AG600 can fight forest fires, undertake water rescues, monitor the maritime environment and carry out patrol missions, Xinhua reported in 2019.
据《新华社》 2019年报道，AG600型的尺寸大约相当于波音737的大小，可以扑灭森林大火，进行水上救援，监测海洋环境并执行巡逻任务。

When deployed from Sanya, South China’s Hainan Province, the AG600 can reach any location in the South China Sea thanks to its endurance of 12 hours and ability to take off and land on water, reports said.
报道称，AG600从华南的海南省三亚市部署后，可以到达南海的任何地点，由于它具有12小时的续飞时间和海上起降能力。

As of March 31, all arms producers in Hubei had resumed operation, with about 65 percent of workers returning to their positions, the Hubei Daily reported on Friday.
据《湖北日报》周五报道，截至3月31日，湖北所有武器制造厂已恢复生产，约65％的工人重返工作岗位。

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