AutoFlight has completed a mixed-fleet formation flight of three eVTOL aircraft and entered airworthiness certification for its V5000CGH cargo hybrid-electric variant. The Shanghai-based developer’s 5,700kg aircraft offers 1.5-ton payload, a 14m³ cargo hold and 1,500km range, targeting heavy-lift logistics, offshore resupply and emergency response missions.
Shanghai-based AutoFlight has completed a mixed-fleet formation flight involving three aircraft and confirmed that its V5000CGH cargo hybrid-electric variant has entered airworthiness certification.
The formation exercise brought together one V5000 Matrix and two V2000-series electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, testing communication links, route planning, flight coordination and safety control across the company’s 5-ton and 2-ton platforms. The exercise was intended to validate how different aircraft types can operate together in shared airspace, with applications spanning low-altitude logistics, emergency response, maritime support and regional air transport.
The V5000CGH has a maximum take-off weight of 5,700kg and a maximum payload of 1.5 tons. It carries a 14m³ cargo hold sized to accommodate two AKE standard air cargo containers, cruises at 280km/h and has a maximum range of 1,500km. The aircraft made its transition flight in February 2026 and now moves from R&D validation into a standardized approval process.
AutoFlight is targeting the aircraft at heavy-lift logistics. Use cases include large-scale emergency rescue operations carrying medical material, rescue equipment and emergency supplies; offshore energy and marine resupply missions intended to replace slower maritime alternatives; and interregional freight that extends low-altitude transport from intercity links to interprovincial routes.
The V5000 Matrix sits at the top of AutoFlight’s cargo and passenger eVTOL portfolio, designed for point-to-point heavy-lift missions. The company’s certification team draws on experience from the ARJ21-700, C919 and Diamond DA42 programs.
Elsewhere in the AutoFlight fleet, the V2000CG CarryAll already holds the full set of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) airworthiness certificates – type certificate (TC), production certificate (PC) and airworthiness certificate (AC) – while the six-seat manned V2000EM Prosperity has entered the compliance verification phase.
AutoFlight says it will continue V5000CGH design, testing, flight trials and compliance verification in line with airworthiness regulations as it works toward commercial deployment of heavy-payload, long-range eVTOL operations.
