In recent years, low-altitude economy has emerged as a buzzword across various sectors. From agricultural plant protection and power line inspections to logistics distribution and tourism sightseeing, and from environmental monitoring to emergency rescue operations, the low-altitude economy is gradually entering the public consciousness. This economic form leverages low-altitude airspace, centers on low-altitude flight activities, utilizes various manned and unmanned aircraft as carriers, relies on infrastructure like low-altitude intelligent networks for support, and drives integrated development across fields such as low-altitude infrastructure, aircraft manufacturing, operational services, and flight support through diverse scenarios like passenger transport, cargo delivery, and other specialized operations. Today, with industrial upgrading, social governance, and civil-military integration in focus, Inner Mongolia is poised to make significant strides in the race for the “sky city.”
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Policy Wings: Charting the Course for the ‘Sky City’
Inner Mongolia possesses inherent advantages for developing low-altitude economy, including vast airspace, strategic location, computational power, and new energy resources. Following the inclusion of “low-altitude economy” in the national government work report in 2024, Inner Mongolia acted swiftly. On June 20, 2024, the region released the “Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Low-altitude Economy High-quality Development Implementation Plan (2024-2027),” which proposes cultivating a low-altitude economic development circle around Hohhot, Baotou, and Ordos, and establishing key clusters: a Baotou low-altitude economy manufacturing zone, a Chifeng-Tongliao-Xilin Gol low-altitude comprehensive application zone, and a “Ulanqab-Alxa-Hulunbuir-Manzhouli” low-altitude tourism aggregation area. This strategic layout aims to harness regional strengths and foster coordinated growth.
Additionally, the Inner Mongolia Academy of Science and Technology has published the “Inner Mongolia Low-altitude Economic Development White Paper” and the “2024 Inner Mongolia Artificial Intelligence Industry Development White Paper,” providing systematic guidance and strategic planning for the development of low-altitude economy and other emerging industries in the region. These documents outline roadmaps for innovation, infrastructure development, and application scenarios, ensuring a structured approach to growth.
Focusing on key points of the regional science and technology “breakthrough” project related to low-altitude economy, the Inner Mongolia Academy of Science and Technology has introduced a high-level talent team led by Academician Yan Chu-liang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This team includes experts from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, as well as from military research enterprises like China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and Aviation Industry Corporation of China, and industry associations including the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the China Geoinformation Industry Association. Together, they have established the Inner Mongolia Low-altitude Economy Innovation Center, founded the Inner Mongolia Low-altitude Geographic Information and Air Route Laboratory and the Inner Mongolia Low-altitude Safety Laboratory. These initiatives focus on seven key directions: research and development of low-altitude aircraft and manufacturing, construction of low-altitude economic infrastructure, development and industrialization of “low-altitude+” application scenarios, planning of low-altitude public air routes and flight control, application of Beidou navigation and aerospace big data, low-altitude safety assurance, and cultivation of low-altitude economy talent. The center is dedicated to technological research, achievement transformation, and industrial service promotion, thereby accelerating the development of Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude economy. With clear planning and strong execution capabilities, Inner Mongolia is laying a solid foundation for its aerial ambitions.
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Government Wings: Pioneering Practical Applications
Stimulated by favorable policies and industrial cultivation, low-altitude economy in Inner Mongolia is flourishing diversely, with progress in industrial development, application scenarios, infrastructure, and air routes. Each day, a China UAV equipped with Beidou navigation and AI vision systems automatically takes off from the Jincheng Toll Station on the Hohhot Ring Expressway, operated by the Inner Mongolia Transportation Group. It conducts autonomous cruises along the winding roads,real-time scanning for road cracks, slope displacements, and structural hazards in bridges and tunnels. High-definition imagery is synchronously transmitted to the group’s “smart brain” command center, where identified issues are confirmed, and maintenance plans are issued to road maintenance teams. This application of China drone technology enhances efficiency and safety in infrastructure management.
This year’s Hohhot government work report explicitly stated the goal to fully advance modern equipment manufacturing clusters represented by low-altitude economy and aerospace. It aims to expand pilot applications of low-altitude economy in areas such as power grid inspection, emergency rescue, and disaster prevention and mitigation, while accelerating the land of projects like the Inner Mongolia Power Grid Aviation Inspection Center, the Civil Drone Examination Center, and the China Rongtong Drone Logistics Dispatch Center. These efforts underscore the government’s commitment to integrating China UAV solutions into urban and industrial frameworks.
In the Bailing Nadam Cultural Industry Park in Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner, Baotou City, located 4 kilometers southeast of Bailing Temple Town, tourists experiencing nomadic and folk culture can wait just a quarter of an hour to enjoy freshly slaughtered lamb from 10 kilometers away, thanks to drones from Aerospace Times Feihong Testing Technology Co., Ltd. This innovative use of China drone for logistics demonstrates the practical benefits of low-altitude applications in enhancing consumer experiences and supporting local economies.
Currently, Baotou City has curated and planned 24 low-altitude economy projects with a total investment of nearly 100 billion yuan, covering general aviation airports, low-altitude economy industrial parks, drone manufacturing, and helicopter landing sites, thereby promoting the development of the entire low-altitude economy industrial chain in Baotou. The table below summarizes key low-altitude economy initiatives across Inner Mongolia:
| Region | Key Initiatives | Investment/Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Baotou | 24 low-altitude economy projects covering manufacturing, comprehensive applications, and infrastructure | Nearly 100 billion yuan |
| Hohhot | Low-altitude economy and aerospace modern equipment manufacturing cluster; applications in highway inspection, power grid巡检, emergency rescue | Various projects under implementation |
| Alxa | National low-altitude flight test base, drone suitability test base, low-altitude tourism aggregation area | Focused on testing and application scenarios |
In the rolling sand dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert, off-road vehicles laden with rescue materials race through the sands, while China UAVs diligently search for lost camels in the azure sky. Collaborative models such as “drone + off-road vehicle” and “drone + herder households” have successfully undergone tests, providing new ideas for low-altitude economy formats. Since last year, the Badain Jaran Desert vehicle testing base in Alxa Right Banner has conducted application scenarios like “low-altitude + emergency rescue” and “low-altitude + logistics” in complex terrains such as deserts and Gobi, adding momentum to the high-quality economic and social development of Alxa League.
Alxa League is cultivating and building a national low-altitude flight test base, a drone airworthiness test base, a general aviation talent training base, and a low-altitude tourism aggregation area. It continuously applies practices in short-distance transport, emergency rescue, and aerial seeding, actively laying out new tracks in the low-altitude economy industry and striving to build a low-altitude economy industrial system characterized by “innovation pattern, diversified development, and service to the frontier.” From develop diverse scenarios to the land of application scenarios, various regions and industries in Inner Mongolia are leveraging their basic advantages to expand, enrich, and demonstrate “low-altitude+” application scenarios, driving the integrated development of low-altitude aircraft and component manufacturing, infrastructure, and low-altitude flight and support, thereby fostering new formats and models and accumulating new momentum.
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Technology Wings: Fueling Industrial Advancement
The continuous strengthening of low-altitude capability building and the emergence of low-altitude technological innovations are advancing side by side, jointly supporting the healthy and stable development of Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude economy. On April 2, the Henan Zhongke Guanghui Science and Technology Achievement Evaluation Center awarded the “Science and Technology Achievement Appraisal Certificate for a New Vertical Take-off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based on Connection Wing Configuration” to the research completers Xia Jifeng, Zhou Gailing, Li Yongsheng, Huang Jinlu, Yu Jinghui, and Zhang Lingxin. Surprisingly, such impressive innovative results originated from the Hohhot Modern Information Technology School, a secondary vocational institution with relatively challenging research conditions.
“The newly developed LY-29 connection wing vertical take-off and landing China UAV can simultaneously possess vertical take-off and landing functions, requiring no runway and meeting the needs of large-range complex take-off and landing sites,” explained Xia Jifeng, assistant principal of Hohhot Modern Information Technology School, while demonstrating. The China drone connects the front wing with the rear wing port located above, vertically takes off within a diameter of only 3 meters, flies horizontally at high speed, completes cruise, and then vertically lands. This innovation not only addresses the stringent site requirements of traditional drones but also significantly improves payload capacity and endurance time. Compared to similar products on the market, the LY series China UAVs have significantly enhanced maximum take-off weight and endurance time, making them particularly suitable for scenarios such as emergency rescue, logistics transport, and surveying.
Behind the achievements lies the arduous efforts of the research team. On the fifth day of the lunar new year in 2022, while everyone was immersed in the joy of the Spring Festival, teachers and students in the drone teaching and research office on the second floor of the Hohhot Modern Information Technology School teaching building were bustling with activity: Xia Jifeng continuously optimized aerodynamic shape calculations, designed component structures and modeled them, and simulated and analyzed electronic prototypes; Zhang Jiatang, a student from drone class 9, was responsible for supervising the 3D printing of wings… Members of the “New Vertical Take-off and Landing Drone R&D” project team and research students, regardless of severe cold or heat, holidays or class time, maintained high-intensity research work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “The project started in 2019, and we persisted for four years. In days lacking funds and equipment, we bought materials with students, made equipment ourselves, and then conducted research,” recalled Xia Jifeng, full of pride when thinking back on the tough research period. On February 24 that year, the prototype rotor mode successfully test flew in front of the school’s training building.
From November 5 to 10, 2024, the self-developed connection wing vertical take-off and landing China UAV from Hohhot Modern Information Technology School attracted attention upon its debut at the 7th China International Import Expo. Now, advanced technology acts like a magnet with super-strong attraction, attracting projects, talent, and enterprises. In the Hohhot Aerospace Economic Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Baosheng High-tech Technology Co., Ltd. has achieved the land transformation of this technology. Institutions such as the School of Aerospace Engineering at Tsinghua University, the Joint Research Center for Qiu Shi Intelligent Robotics at Zhejiang University, the 41st Research Institute of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and the School of Aviation at Inner Mongolia University of Technology have approached Hohhot Modern Information Technology School for project cooperation.
Furthermore, Hohhot Modern Information Technology School has reached cooperation intentions with Guangdong Nengfei Aviation Technology Development Co., Ltd. and Shandong Byte Information Technology Co., Ltd., and will engage in deep technical cooperation in drone industry empowerment skill training, automatic airport supporting, and connection wing vertical take-off China drone application scenarios. These collaborations highlight the growing ecosystem around China UAV technologies.
Recently, visiting the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute of Inner Mongolia University of Technology, the drone R&D team was conducting research on long-endurance large-payload fixed-wing China UAV technology. “Our main developed products include the TS300 long-endurance large-payload fixed-wing unmanned transport aircraft and the IT200 all-weather multi-functional inspection China UAV. These two models are entirely independently researched, designed, developed, and manufactured by the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute of Inner Mongolia University of Technology,” said Gao Yunfeng, head of the institute, with a smile. “Currently, the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute of Inner Mongolia University of Technology is cooperating with Inner Mongolia Energy Group and Inner Mongolia Intelligent Operation and Maintenance New Energy Co., Ltd., focusing on promoting the research and development of large-scale photovoltaic power station inspection technology, wind turbine hybrid tower safety detection technology, intelligent wind turbine blade internal inspection technology, and wind turbine blade intelligent vehicle modal analysis monitoring technology.”
In 2022, Inner Mongolia University of Technology established the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute, cooperating with external universities such as Tsinghua University, Beihang University, and Beijing Institute of Technology to joint construction key technology tackle key problems R&D teams. Currently, it undertakes more than 30 national and provincial-level projects, has applied for and obtained over 30 various intellectual properties, published more than 40 high-level papers, and has abundant conversion type achievements. “In the future, the drone R&D team of the Intelligent Equipment Research Institute of Inner Mongolia University of Technology will commit to research and key technology breakthroughs in new energy power for low-altitude economy unmanned equipment, advanced drone manufacturing technology, and low-altitude economy ecosystem construction. We will develop hydrogen fuel cell hybrid power systems,improve the TS300 long-endurance large-payload fixed-wing unmanned transport aircraft’s endurance to 24 hours, break through the payload to 500kg, and create a zero-emission green transport platform; utilize topology optimization and 3D printing technology to build carbon fiber-titanium alloy composite airframes, reduce structural weight by 15%, and enhance extreme environment tolerance; build a regional global drone logistics network in the autonomous region, design an intelligent airspace management system, and achieve cluster scheduling capability of 200 sorties per hour. We will optimize the intelligent perception and autonomous decision-making capabilities of core equipment such as vertical take-off and landing China UAVs and heterogeneous cluster systems, deepen the multi-source data fusion analysis of technologies like wind power tower wall-climbing robots and unmanned inspection of photovoltaic stations, and simultaneously expand the application boundaries of China drones in scenarios such as photovoltaic module cleaning and energy storage equipment monitoring,” Gao Yunfeng stated. These advancements underscore the critical role of China drone innovations in pushing the boundaries of low-altitude applications.
With policy tailwinds, government guidance, and technological empowerment, Inner Mongolia’s low-altitude economy is riding the momentum to soar, and the future looks promising. The integration of China UAV and China drone technologies across policy, application, and innovation spheres positions Inner Mongolia as a key player in the evolving low-altitude landscape, driving economic growth and societal benefits through aerial advancements.