Hunan province's aerospace and BeiDou navigation industrial chain is projected to achieve a revenue of 147.2 billion yuan in 2025, marking a 21.4% year-on-year increase, with an ambitious goal set for 2026.
The announcement came during a press conference held in Changsha on August 28th, ahead of the Fifth International Summit on BeiDou Navigation Satellite System Scale Application. Local authorities revealed plans to surpass the 160 billion yuan milestone next year and extend BeiDou application services to regions including Africa and Southeast Asia.
Hunan boasts a strong aerospace heritage, having produced China's first aviation engine. Recent technological breakthroughs in the province include the world's first megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled aviation turboprop engine, China's first independently developed civil turboshaft engine, and the country's first unmanned transport aircraft with a payload exceeding three tons.
As China's pioneering province for full-domain low-altitude airspace management reform, Hunan has achieved 12 national firsts in this sector. The province has established 91 ground surveillance stations and 15 very high frequency facilities, ensuring communication, surveillance, and navigation coverage above 300 meters across its entire territory.
In 2025, the province recorded 19.47 million safe drone flights totaling 1.84 million hours, representing year-on-year growth of 96% and 122%, respectively. By May of this year, Hunan's suitable flight airspace had expanded to 75.5%.
Looking ahead, Hunan will advance 34 landmark projects, including the "Hundred Rockets, Thousand Satellites" initiative and heavy-load, long-endurance drone development. The province is also accelerating the construction of a provincial low-altitude intelligent network system and the first phase of the Changsha Xiangjiang low-altitude public air route, while promoting "scan-to-fly" public flight zones.
The BeiDou Scale Application International Summit, permanently headquartered in Hunan, has attracted over 10,000 participants and more than 1,000 exhibiting enterprises to date. The fifth edition of the summit is scheduled for September 15-16 in Zhuzhou, with confirmed attendees from over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, along with several international organizations.
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