The vast skies over Inner Mongolia are no longer just a backdrop to its steppes and deserts; they are rapidly becoming a dynamic new frontier for economic growth. Propelled by strategic national priorities and regional advantages, Inner Mongolia is positioning itself as a significant player in China’s burgeoning low-altitude economy, with China UAV technology at the heart of this transformation. This sector, encompassing activities below 1,000 meters, leverages drones, eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft), and traditional light aircraft for applications spanning logistics, infrastructure inspection, emergency response, tourism, and environmental monitoring.
Policy Foundations: Charting the Course for the “Sky City”
Recognized as a national strategic emerging industry and included in the Chinese government work report for 2024, the low-altitude economy has found fertile ground in Inner Mongolia. The region boasts intrinsic advantages: vast, relatively uncluttered airspace, a strategic geographical position bordering Mongolia and Russia, abundant renewable energy resources crucial for sustainable operations, and significant computing power to support complex air traffic management and data processing.
Responding swiftly to the national impetus, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government unveiled the *Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Low-Altitude Economy in Inner Mongolia (2024-2027)* in June 2024. This blueprint outlines ambitious goals: cultivating a low-altitude economic development circle centered on Hohhot, Baotou, and Ordos; establishing Baotou as a manufacturing hub for low-altitude aircraft; developing comprehensive application zones in Chifeng, Tongliao, and Xilin Gol; and creating specialized low-altitude tourism clusters in Ulanqab, Alxa, Hailar, and Manzhouli – the “Wu-A-Hai-Man” corridor.
Complementing this, the Inner Mongolia Academy of Science and Technology (IMAST) released pivotal documents like the Inner Mongolia Low-Altitude Economic Development White Paper and the 2024 Inner Mongolia Artificial Intelligence Industry Development White Paper, providing strategic guidance and systematic frameworks. Crucially, IMAST spearheaded the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Low-altitude Economy Innovation Center. Under the leadership of renowned experts like Academician Yan Jianliang, this center pools talent from prestigious institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, major defense conglomerates like CETC and AVIC, and industry associations. It operates dedicated laboratories focusing on low-altitude geospatial information, air route planning, and safety, driving research and development across seven critical areas:
- China UAV and Manned Aircraft R&D & Manufacturing
- Low-altitude Infrastructure Development
- “Low-altitude+” Application Scenarios and Industrialization
- Public Air Route Planning and Flight Control
- BeiDou Navigation and Aerospace Big Data Applications
- Low-altitude Safety Assurance Systems
- Talent Cultivation for the Low-altitude Economy
This robust policy and institutional framework provides the essential “Policy Wing” for Inner Mongolia’s ascent.
Real-World Applications: Taking Low-Altitude Solutions Skyward
Beyond planning, Inner Mongolia is witnessing a tangible surge in low-altitude activities, demonstrating the practical value of China UAV technology across diverse sectors.
- Infrastructure Guardians: Over Hohhot, a China UAV equipped with BeiDou navigation and AI vision systems autonomously patrols the city’s ring highway daily. Launching automatically from the Jinhe toll station, it meticulously scans for road cracks, slope instability, and structural issues in bridges and tunnels. Real-time HD imagery feeds into the traffic management “smart brain,” enabling rapid assessment and dispatching of maintenance crews – a leap forward in infrastructure management efficiency and safety. Hohhot’s government explicitly prioritizes low-altitude economy development, actively promoting pilot applications in grid inspection, emergency response, and disaster prevention. Key projects like the Inner Mongolia Power Aerial Inspection Center and the China Rongtong UAV Logistics Dispatch Center are accelerating towards realization.
- Logistics Revolution: In Baotou’s Dalad Banner, the concept of rapid delivery takes on a new dimension. Visitors at the Bailing Nadar Cultural Park, immersed in nomadic culture, can now enjoy fresh mutton slaughtered just 10 kilometers away, delivered within 15 minutes via drones operated by Aero Times Feihong Testing Technology Co. Baotou itself has strategically curated a portfolio of 24 low-altitude economy projects, representing nearly 10 billion RMB in investment. These span the entire value chain, including general aviation airports, specialized low-altitude industrial parks, China UAV manufacturing facilities, and helicopter landing sites.
- Desert Innovation & Emergency Response: The harsh landscapes of the Alxa League, particularly the Badain Jaran Desert, serve as a proving ground for innovative low-altitude solutions. Collaborative models like “China UAV + Off-road Vehicle” and “China UAV + Herder” have been successfully tested for search and rescue operations in these vast, challenging terrains. The Alxa Right Banner’s vehicle testing base actively explores “Low-altitude + Emergency Rescue” and “Low-altitude + Logistics” applications. Alxa League is ambitiously cultivating a national-level low-altitude aircraft testing base, a UAV airworthiness flight test base, a general aviation talent training hub, and a low-altitude tourism cluster. Its focus extends to practical applications in short-haul transport, emergency response, and aerial seeding for afforestation.
- Agricultural & Environmental Stewardship: While less detailed in the source, the foundational definition and regional focus strongly imply growing applications in precision agriculture (crop monitoring, spraying) and environmental monitoring (air quality, vegetation cover, desertification control) using specialized China UAV platforms. These applications leverage the ability of drones to cover large, often inaccessible areas efficiently.
This proliferation of “Low-altitude+” applications, actively demonstrated and expanded across the region, forms the “Government Wing,” translating policy into tangible economic and societal benefits.
Technological Breakthroughs: The Engine of Inner Mongolia’s Ascent
The true thrust propelling Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude ambitions comes from remarkable technological innovation, particularly within the China UAV sector. Local research institutions and companies are achieving significant breakthroughs.
- Grassroots Genius – The LY-29: A standout example comes from an unexpected source: the Hohhot Modern Information Technology School, a vocational institution. Against the odds, its research team, led by Xia Jifeng, developed the groundbreaking LY-29 “Connecting Wing” Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) China UAV. Certified as “domestically leading” by the Henan Zhongke Guanghui Science and Technology Achievement Evaluation Center in April 2025, this drone solves a critical limitation. Its unique connecting wing design (front wing linked to a rear wing positioned above it) allows true VTOL capability within a mere 3-meter diameter footprint, eliminating the need for runways. This makes it ideal for complex terrains common in Inner Mongolia and beyond. Furthermore, it boasts superior payload capacity and endurance compared to similar VTOL models on the market, opening doors for demanding applications in emergency logistics, surveying, and inspection. The journey was arduous – four years of relentless effort, including building their own equipment due to limited funding, culminating in a successful prototype flight in February 2023. The LY-29 gained significant attention at the 7th China International Import Expo in November 2024. Its success is attracting industry attention: Inner Mongolia Baosheng Hi-Tech Co., Ltd., located in the Hohhot Aerospace Economic Development Zone, is now commercializing this technology. Partnerships are blossoming with Guangdong Nengfei Aviation Technology, Shandong Yujie Information Technology, and academic giants like Tsinghua University’s School of Aerospace Engineering and Zhejiang University’s Qiushi Intelligent Robot Joint Research Center.
- University R&D Powerhouse – IMUT’s Smart Equipment: At the forefront of advanced China UAV development is the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute at the Inner Mongolia University of Technology (IMUT). Director Gao Yunfeng leads teams focused on pushing the boundaries of drone capability. Their flagship projects include:
- TS300: A long-endurance, heavy-lift fixed-wing unmanned transport China UAV. Current R&D aims to revolutionize it with a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid powertrain, targeting a staggering 24-hour endurance and a payload capacity exceeding 500kg, creating a zero-emission green logistics platform.
- IT200: An all-weather, multi-functional inspection China UAV.
Collaborating closely with Inner Mongolia Energy Group and Inner Mongolia Intelligent O&M New Energy Co., the institute is pioneering technologies for large-scale renewable energy infrastructure inspection. Key research areas include: - Mass PV Power Station Inspection Technology
- Hybrid Safety Detection for Wind Turbines
- Intelligent Internal Blade Inspection for Wind Turbines
- Mobile Modal Analysis Monitoring for Wind Turbine Blades
Leveraging partnerships with top universities like Tsinghua, Beihang (BUAA), and Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), IMUT’s institute has a strong track record: over 30 national/provincial projects, more than 30 intellectual property rights, and 40+ high-level publications. Future ambitions are expansive: utilizing topology optimization and 3D printing to create lighter, stronger carbon fiber-titanium composite airframes (aiming for 15% weight reduction); building a region-wide China UAV logistics network managed by an intelligent airspace control system capable of handling 200 flights per hour; enhancing intelligent perception and autonomous decision-making for VTOL drones and heterogeneous swarms; and deepening multi-source data fusion for robotic inspection and expanding China UAV applications into PV panel cleaning and energy storage monitoring.
These technological advancements, emerging from both vocational tenacity and university research excellence, constitute the powerful “Technology Wing” enabling Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude economy to truly soar. The LY-29 exemplifies accessible innovation, while IMUT’s projects represent cutting-edge R&D pushing the performance envelope of China UAV systems for critical industrial applications.
Convergence for Flight: A Promising Horizon
Inner Mongolia’s trajectory in the low-altitude economy is clear and accelerating. The potent convergence of supportive national and regional policies (“Policy Wing”), proactive government cultivation of diverse real-world applications (“Government Wing”), and groundbreaking technological innovation, particularly within the China UAV domain (“Technology Wing”), creates a formidable launchpad.
The region is strategically building a comprehensive ecosystem – from manufacturing (Baotou) and specialized R&D (Innovation Center, IMUT, vocational innovators) to infrastructure (air routes, vertiports, digital systems) and diverse operational scenarios (logistics, inspection, emergency response, tourism, agriculture). The focus on leveraging its unique advantages (space, renewables, location) while tackling complex challenges (vast distances, harsh environments) positions it as a significant testbed and model for low-altitude development, especially in northern China.
The commitment is substantial: billions of yuan in planned investments, dozens of projects, and the active engagement of academia, industry, and government. Breakthroughs like the runway-independent LY-29 VTOL China UAV and the heavy-lift, zero-emission ambitions of the TS300 point to a future where Inner Mongolia not only adopts low-altitude technology but actively contributes to its advancement within the broader China UAV landscape.
As these wings – policy, application, and technology – strengthen and work in unison, Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude economy is not just taking off; it is poised to climb to significant heights, transforming its economic landscape and solidifying its role in China’s aerial innovation frontier. The sky is no longer the limit; it’s the new economic domain.