Technicians prepare large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, for its maiden flight at Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
During its maiden voyage, which lasted around 40 minutes, Ganlin-1 maintained stable flight and successfully conducted weather-modification operations, such as atmospheric detection and catalyst spreading to generate precipitation, as well as the de-icing of the UAV itself.
This innovative move in ecological protection marks the launch of China's first large UAV-based weather-modification system, filling the country's gap in the field. The UAV is capable of long-range atmospheric sounding, air-data acquisition and catalyst seeding for precipitation enhancement, according to the developer.
Technicians prepare large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, for its maiden flight at Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Technicians prepare large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, for its maiden flight at Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, takes off from Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, takes off from Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Technicians prepare large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, for its maiden flight at Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)(Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Technicians prepare large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, for its maiden flight at Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)
Large UAV, Ganlin-1, meaning "sweet rain" in Chinese, takes off from Jinchuan airport in Jinchang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, Jan. 6, 2021. China deployed a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Wednesday for generating artificial precipitation in northwest China's Gansu Province, with an aim of boosting ecological protection.
