China's AG600 Kunlong Enters Mass Production, Expanding Firefighting and Maritime Rescue Capacity

A 60 Tonne Aircraft Built for Runways and Water

China has launched mass production of the AG600 Kunlong, an amphibious aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 60 tonnes, following more than 15 years of development. Its production certificate, granted in June 2025, clears the way for commercial deliveries, with the first aircraft expected to reach customers by the end of 2025.

Developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the AG600 is the world's largest operational amphibious aircraft by takeoff weight. Larger than a Boeing 737, it combines the ability to fly from conventional runways with the ability to take off and land on water.

The aircraft is designed around emergency rescue, natural disaster prevention and maritime operations. It can collect 12 tonnes of water for firefighting in 20 seconds or carry up to 50 people during a maritime search and rescue mission. Its potential work also includes transporting relief supplies and supporting remote islands.

As of August 4, 2025, the move into mass production marks a new stage for a programme that began in 2009. AVIC is preparing for deliveries while developing specialised versions and pursuing opportunities outside China, particularly in countries exposed to wildfires and maritime disasters.

The production milestone brings together two parts of China's aviation ambitions: building large aircraft with domestic technology and creating equipment that can reach emergencies across extensive land and sea areas. The AG600's ability to use water as a landing surface also gives it possible strategic roles in places where conventional runways are unavailable.

For rescue teams, the practical attraction is access. An aircraft that can land near survivors or collect water close to a fire can perform tasks that depend on geography as much as flying speed.

How the Kunlong Operates on Land and Water

The AG600 measures 38.9 metres in length, 38.8 metres across its wings and 11.7 metres in height. Its dimensions rival or surpass those of many commercial airliners, while its maximum takeoff weight makes it the largest amphibious civilian aircraft currently in service.

A streamlined upper fuselage, the main body of the aircraft, is paired with a lower hull shaped like a boat. The upper section supports efficient flight, while the lower section allows the aircraft to move across water and withstand water landings. It can operate from seas, lakes and rivers as well as conventional runways.

Floats on each wing provide stability during water operations and help prevent the aircraft from overturning in rough conditions. The design supports takeoffs and landings in waves up to two metres high, described as sea state 3.

Four domestically produced WJ-6 turboprop engines power the aircraft. Turboprops use turbines to drive propellers. The AG600 can reach a cruising speed of up to 500 kilometres per hour, with its listed cruise speed range running from 220 to 500 kilometres per hour.

• Length: 38.9 metres.
• Wingspan: 38.8 metres.
• Height: 11.7 metres.
• Maximum takeoff weight: 60 tonnes.
• Maximum range: 4,500 kilometres.
• Cruise speed: 220 to 500 kilometres per hour.
• Service ceiling: 7,600 metres.
• Endurance: up to 12 hours.

The service ceiling describes the aircraft's operating altitude limit, while endurance describes how long it can remain airborne. Together with its range, those figures explain its intended use over large, remote areas and stretches of sea.

From the 2009 Launch to Production Approval

The AG600 project began in 2009 as part of China's effort to develop domestic large aircraft for civilian and strategic purposes. The programme brought together 292 enterprises and institutions, 16 universities and hundreds of supporting units across 22 provinces and cities.

Tens of thousands of components had to be designed, tested and integrated. Bringing those parts together required coordinated design work, manufacturing and supply chain management across a large network of participants.

The flight programme moved from land to inland water and then the open sea before firefighting demonstrations and certification. Each stage tested a different part of an aircraft expected to work in both air and water.

• 2009: The AG600 development programme began.
• 2017: The aircraft made its maiden flight from land.
• 2018: It completed its first takeoff from a reservoir.
• 2020: It made its first open sea flight.
• 2023: Successful firefighting demonstrations took place.
• 2025: The aircraft received type and production certification and entered mass production.
• June 2025: The production certificate was granted.
• By the end of 2025: AVIC expects to deliver the first aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) oversaw a rigorous certification process to assess airworthiness and safety. Type certification concerns the aircraft design. The production certificate confirms that AVIC's manufacturing systems can consistently produce aircraft that meet the approved standards.

That manufacturing approval is the step that allows the programme to move from developing and testing aircraft towards commercial deliveries and operational deployment.

Firefighting With 12 Tonnes of Water

The AG600's firefighting system can scoop 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds while the aircraft skims across a water surface. It can then release the entire load over a fire zone in as little as four seconds.

A single drop can cover an area of 3,000 to 4,000 square metres. The stated comparison is the firefighting power of 300 personnel in one pass, illustrating the scale of the water delivery envisaged for forest fire operations.

Forest fires are a growing threat worldwide, and rapid collection and release of water are central to the AG600's intended role. Its ability to refill from water surfaces supports repeated operations around a fire, while its capacity allows a substantial load to be delivered at once.

Huang Lingcai, chief designer of the AG600 series, described the engineering challenge of making the aircraft reliable in both air and water:

a tough nut to crack

The water intake and release systems were a major part of that challenge. They had to collect a large volume quickly and deliver it precisely over the target area, while remaining reliable in demanding operating conditions.

Rescue and Relief Beyond Conventional Airports

The AG600 can carry up to 50 people per sortie during maritime search and rescue operations. A sortie is one mission flight. That capacity is intended to support evacuations after shipwrecks, floods and emergencies on remote islands.

Landing on water allows the aircraft to reach disaster areas that conventional aircraft cannot access directly. It can bring medical teams, emergency equipment and supplies closer to people in need, including around remote islands and atolls.

The aircraft's large cargo hold and range also support disaster relief and logistics. Supplies, equipment and personnel can be transported to areas cut off by natural disasters, including places where runways have been damaged or do not exist.

Those missions explain why the AG600 was conceived as a platform for several roles rather than a single task. Firefighting, maritime rescue and relief transport share a need to reach difficult locations, but they require different equipment and arrangements inside the aircraft.

Its modular design allows future versions to be adapted for specific tasks. Planned possibilities include maritime surveillance, environmental monitoring and military applications, alongside the core emergency response roles.

The Engineering Behind an Aircraft That Also Floats

The AG600's hull has to withstand the forces of water landings while the aircraft's shape must limit drag and maintain stability in flight. Drag is the resistance that air creates as an aircraft moves through it.

Combining those requirements makes an amphibious aircraft more complicated to design than a machine built only for runways. A hull suitable for water operations must work as part of an aircraft that can also fly efficiently over long distances.

The wing floats are another essential part of that balance. They keep the aircraft stable on water and help prevent capsizing, especially when the surface is rough.

Testing covered different operating environments, from mountainous regions to the open ocean. Engineers also had to make the water collection and release equipment dependable enough for demanding firefighting work.

The programme has established technical standards and management experience for future Chinese aerospace projects. Its network of manufacturers, institutions and supporting organisations also provides experience in coordinating the development and production of large aircraft for specialised uses.

How It Compares With Other Amphibious Aircraft

The AG600's maximum takeoff weight of 60 tonnes exceeds the figures given for two other established amphibious aircraft: Russia's Beriev Be-200 at 43.7 tonnes and Japan's ShinMaywa US-2 at 47.7 tonnes. It also surpasses them in size and payload capacity.

Using those figures, the AG600's maximum takeoff weight is 16.3 tonnes greater than the Be-200's and 12.3 tonnes greater than the US-2's. Maximum takeoff weight is the greatest permitted total weight when an aircraft begins a flight, including the aircraft itself and what it carries.

For firefighting, the AG600's 12 tonnes of water capacity is double that of the Canadair CL-415, described as the current industry standard. Water capacity is especially relevant to the volume an aircraft can deliver in a single pass over a fire.

The AG600 also represents a different production ambition from China's earlier Harbin SH-5. Only seven SH-5 aircraft were built. The Kunlong is designed for mass production and international markets, with AVIC expecting it to compete for overseas sales.

Countries facing wildfires and maritime disasters are among the potential customers. The combination of water collection, rescue capacity and access to places without runways is central to that sales prospect.

Why Its Maritime Reach Has Strategic Weight

The AG600 is officially a civilian aircraft, but its capabilities also have strategic and military uses. Resupplying islands, evacuating people for medical treatment, moving personnel quickly and carrying out maritime patrols are all possible applications.

Its ability to operate in the South China Sea, East China Sea and other contested regions could expand China's logistical reach without depending on conventional runways. For islands and remote maritime positions, water access offers another way to move people and supplies.

China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea are mapped through the controversial Nine-Dash Line. Regional disputes involve Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Japan across the South China Sea and East China Sea settings.

The United States and its allies have increased their military presence in the region and conducted freedom of navigation operations to counter China's maritime expansion. In that setting, deployment of the AG600 could strengthen China's ability to support operations in disputed island zones.

The aircraft's modular design also supports possible future adaptations for maritime surveillance, warfare against submarines and enforcement of exclusive economic zones. These are maritime areas in which coastal countries exercise economic rights. Such potential civilian and military uses give the programme added relevance amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

An AVIC expert described the industrial achievement represented by the aircraft:

The successful development of the AG600 aircraft has led to the creation of a core technology system for large amphibious aircraft in China, marking a historic breakthrough in the development of the country's civil aviation industry for special-purpose large aircraft.

Deliveries and Specialised Versions Are Next

AVIC plans to deliver the first AG600 aircraft by the end of 2025. As of August 4, no more precise delivery date has been given. The company is also developing specialised variants for different missions and aims to build a rapid response network centred on the Kunlong.

Future work will focus on emergency rescue, disaster prevention and maritime operations, alongside export opportunities. The move into production gives China a basis for putting more of these aircraft into service rather than relying on the small number needed for development and testing.

The experience gained is expected to support other Chinese aerospace initiatives, including additional large aircraft for specialised purposes. The AG600 joins the Xi'an Y-20 military transport and the Comac C919 passenger jet among China's major aviation achievements.

Its immediate importance is practical: a large aircraft capable of collecting water, carrying survivors and transporting relief supplies can add another way to respond when distance, damaged infrastructure or open water make access difficult. Production and the planned first deliveries are the next steps towards using that capability more widely.

Key Points

• China's AG600 Kunlong has entered mass production after more than 15 years of development.
• With a maximum takeoff weight of 60 tonnes, it is the world's largest operational amphibious aircraft by that measure.
• The aircraft received its production certificate in June 2025, and AVIC expects first deliveries by the end of 2025.
• It can scoop 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds and release the load in as little as four seconds.
• Maritime rescue missions can carry up to 50 people, while other roles include disaster relief and logistics.
• The design supports runway and water operations, including takeoffs and landings in waves up to two metres high.
• AVIC is developing specialised versions and pursuing overseas markets.
• Its civilian emergency roles sit alongside possible strategic and military applications in maritime regions.