Key facts
- The drill simulated a major forest fire in a high-altitude mountainous area of Chongqing, per CCTV.
- COMAC said the C909 dropped self-absorbing aerial firefighting bags that laid a fire-retardant belt about 400 meters long.
- COMAC said the C909 carries an integrated large water tank it described as the first of its kind designed independently in China.
- Aircraft in the drill included the Il-76, AG600, MA60, Wing Loong II and Twin-Tailed Scorpion, per COMAC.
- COMAC said the exercise tested the modified regional aircraft's performance in high-altitude mountain airspace.
China held a large-scale forest fire drill in Fengjie County, Chongqing, on November 9, 2026, deploying more than 1,600 personnel and over 40 aircraft, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The exercise simulated a major forest fire in a high-altitude mountainous region of southwest China.
Aircraft in the drill included the Wing Loong II and Twin-Tailed Scorpion drones, according to CCTV. Planemaker COMAC said its C909 firefighting aircraft took part in a national-level drill for the first time, alongside the Il-76, AG600 and MA60.
COMAC said the C909 dropped self-absorbing aerial firefighting bags in a scenario where a mountain fire was approaching forest and threatening nearby towns and villages. The drops dampened the area and checked the fire's spread, giving ground teams time to extinguish it section by section, the company said.
COMAC said the aircraft carries an integrated large water tank it described as the first of its kind designed independently in China. By dropping bags on a target area, the plane can lay a fire-retardant belt about 400 meters (1,312 feet) long, it said.
The C909 also has a self-developed precision drop guidance system that uses weather conditions, flight speed and distance to the fire to tell pilots when to release the bags, according to COMAC. The exercise involved more than 150 sets of major equipment, the company said.