China's homegrown MA60 civil search and rescue aircraft completes first test flight

BEIJING -- China's homegrown MA60 civil search and rescue aircraft has successfully completed its inaugural flight, marking the formal start of its comprehensive flight test and verification phase, its developer has confirmed.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading planemaker, announced on Thursday that the aircraft successfully completed its designated daytime validation tasks after a flight lasting one hour and 20 minutes, landing at an airport in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

This new aircraft belongs to the homegrown MA60 "Modern Ark" multipurpose aircraft family.

Challenges such as slow response times and limited search coverage capacity have long constrained China's ability to conduct maritime search and rescue operations over vast distances and in complex environments, according to AVIC experts.

The new aircraft, designed to provide search and rescue, on-site assessment and personnel transportation capabilities, is engineered to offer broad application scenarios. It is capable of executing missions over oceans, in high-altitude regions and at disaster sites -- such as earthquakes and floods.

This specialized aircraft is expected to significantly enhance China's maritime search and rescue capabilities, greatly improving response speed and operational coverage, said the AVIC.

It represents a significant leap forward in terms of the nation's airborne search and rescue equipment and will further bolster China's maritime emergency response system, it added.

The development program for this aircraft was formally launched in December 2021. Its major component production and delivery were completed in December 2024, and this was followed by its final assembly and delivery in May 2025.