China's CH-4 drone built by state-owned aircraft manufacturer China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) with an upgraded domestic heavy-fuel engine has recently accomplished its maiden flight. The domestic engine allows the updated version of the drone to fly at higher altitudes for longer endurance and with heavier loads, according to the aircraft's maker on Wednesday.

The independently developed CH-4 drone with a heavy-fuel engine has recently completed scientific research tests which involved autonomous takeoff and landing, waypoint flight, full load transportation, and tests under maximum flight altitudes and endurance, and the tests were all successful, as per the Global Times info from the CH UAV company on Wednesday.

Shi Wen, the chief engineer of the CH series drone said that the heavy-fuel engine used in the upgraded CH-4 drone was completely domestically made starting from the development to the production and offers low fuel consumption, long flight endurance, and a wide range of application environments.

"With the new heavy-fuel aviation engine, the drone can remain in the sky for significantly longer, fly further, and reach higher cruise altitudes and ceilings. Its payload capacity has also increased by 30 to 50 percent", Shi said.

The new engine will help the CH-4 in terms of its capability and make it more competitive on the market, according to analysts.

The CH-4 is one of the best-selling armed reconnaissance drones on the international market. It can also serve civilian purposes like high-resolution land observation, communications, mapping, aerial object detection, and environmental monitoring, and forest fire prevention.

The series also includes the more capable CH-5, the larger CH-6, the stealth CH-7, and the tilt-rotor CH-10.