The main difference of the AG600M amphibious aircraft is the increase of maximum takeoff weight up to 60 tons

The upgraded version of the advanced AG600 amphibious aircraft produced by the Chinese aircraft building corporation AVIC made a test flight, taking off from water and landing on water for the first time.

As the state mass media of China informed, the aircraft (registration number: B-0DCC) is the first specimen of the streamlined version AG600M optimized for firefighting purposes. The August 29 flight from the water came three months after this version of the world’s largest amphibious aircraft took off on May 31.

The aircraft, equipped with four Dongan WJ-6 turboprop engines, took off from a water area near Zhanghe Airport in the Jinmen Archipelago and flew for 18 minutes, during which time testers tested the performance of several systems. According to the manufacturer’s reports, all checks went well.

The first flight of the basic version of the AG600 took place in October 2018. The aircraft is being developed by AVIC member China Aviation Industry General Aircraft at Zhuhai Airport, which is located near the South China Sea.

According to the announced schedule, the new aircraft should begin participating in firefighting from 2023 and enter the market in 2025.

Compared to the basic version, the B-ODCC has undergone a number of modifications, in particular the shape of the nose and upper parts of the fuselage has been changed, the fairing under the fuselage has been increased. But the main change is the increase of maximum takeoff weight from 53.5 to 60.0 tons. This greatly exceeds the maximum takeoff weight of the previous world record holder among amphibious aircraft – the Japanese Shinmaywa US-2 (43t) and the Russian Be-200 (41t).