A showcase of helicopters, drones, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and high-power electric propulsion systems took center stage at the 2026 Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft Conference held recently in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. These cutting-edge low-altitude equipment and industrial chain achievements offered a glimpse into how the province is propelling its low-altitude economy into the fast lane.

Building on Industrial Roots: An Aviation Hub Eyes a New Frontier

Jiangxi's manufacturing heritage provides the foundation for its low-altitude ambitions. As one of China's key birthplaces of the aviation industry, the province has developed a solid base in trainer aircraft, helicopters, and general aviation across cities like Nanchang and Jingdezhen. In recent years, Jiangxi has incorporated the aviation sector into its "1269" action plan for modernizing key manufacturing chains, designating low-altitude manufacturing as a strategic future industry. Jingdezhen, often hailed as the "Cradle of Chinese Helicopters," plays a pivotal role in this strategy.

According to Chen Kelong, the city's Party secretary, Jingdezhen is one of the few domestic cities capable of developing a full spectrum of helicopters. With over half a century of specialization in rotorcraft, the city boasts integrated R&D and manufacturing capabilities covering airframes, components, and materials. It also holds a complete set of licenses spanning the entire industry chain, from R&D and production to sales, training, and general aviation operations.

During the conference, several milestones were unveiled, including progress from the Rotorcraft Manufacturing Innovation Center, plans for a national demonstration base for low-altitude equipment emerging industries, the establishment of an aviation materials and parts quality inspection center, and the launch of the EPS300 high-power integrated electric propulsion system.

"Walking through the exhibition floor, you can truly feel the booming momentum of the low-altitude economy, making this event highly significant for the industry," said Su Yangyang, deputy general manager of Jiangxi Tianyi Aviation Equipment Co., Ltd. He noted that the expo not only connects upstream and downstream channels, fostering supply-demand matching and accelerating technology transfer, but also highlights frontier innovations that guide technological direction, attract capital and talent, and rally industrial clusters.

Fostering Collaborative Innovation: From Isolated Breakthroughs to a Unified Chain

The low-altitude economy spans a long industrial chain, encompassing airframe manufacturing, propulsion systems, aviation materials, testing and verification, airworthiness certification, and operational services. Organizing scattered technologies, enterprises, and platforms is critical for transitioning from technical exploration to scaled development.

Deng Pingyu, head of the China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, explained that the Rotorcraft Manufacturing Innovation Center is building public service platforms around technological innovation, prototyping and testing, production, and operational services. The goal is to facilitate interaction between demand and supply sides, encouraging the industry to shift from fragmented research to collaborative innovation.

"For the rotorcraft sector, currently in a critical expansion phase, what is most needed is not isolated technological breakthroughs but a coordinated ecosystem," said Yin Shijun, vice chairman of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He pointed to mass production compliance, supply chain support, and cost control as common industry-wide challenges, urging efficient integration of traditional rotorcraft manufacturing capabilities with new demands in new energy, advanced materials, and intelligent technologies.

Beyond innovation, safety remains an indispensable pillar of the industrial ecosystem. Xu Chunrong, director of the Equipment Industry Department II under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated at the opening ceremony that low-altitude equipment is rapidly moving toward unmanned, electric, and intelligent systems, with safety forming the cornerstone of orderly growth. He emphasized enhancing intrinsic product safety through better safety design, reliability assurance, testing, and inspection capabilities, alongside deeper integration of AI and new energy technologies with aviation.

Expanding Applications: From Taking Flight to Delivering Value

While industrial capability and technology determine whether aircraft can fly, application scenarios define where they will be used. Xia Wenyong, vice governor of Jiangxi Province, announced that the province will expand use cases in low-altitude logistics, emergency rescue, and urban governance. Following a strategy of "cargo before passengers, remote before nearby, and segregated before integrated," Jiangxi aims to advance vertical take-off and landing aircraft from product development to commercial operations.

Inside the exhibition hall, helicopters, drones, eVTOL aircraft, and hybrid-powered rotorcraft were lined up for visitors to inspect up close. The airframe section showcased the primary aircraft types dominating the low-altitude sector today, with products representing different technological approaches displayed side by side, from traditional helicopters to novel eVTOL designs and hybrid rotorcraft.

Cities across Jiangxi are actively linking manufacturing capabilities with application demand. Nanchang has unveiled plans to coordinate dual-chain development in low-altitude manufacturing and flight operations, targeting over 160 related enterprises and a total industry scale of 35 billion yuan by 2027. Gongqingcheng is leveraging its A1-class general aviation airport and low-altitude economy industrial park to develop drone manufacturing. Ganzhou is advancing the construction of a national civil unmanned aircraft pilot zone and airworthiness testing base. Jingdezhen, meanwhile, is exploring uses in police patrols, cultural tourism, emergency rescue, and urban inspection, while beginning to build take-off and landing sites and flight service support facilities.

From its aviation heritage to innovation platforms and application-driven growth, Jiangxi is developing a cohesive framework around low-altitude equipment R&D, inspection and testing, and operational services. The province's approach centers on creating synergies among technology, enterprises, platforms, and real-world applications, positioning it to soar in this emerging sector.