CCTV’s First 4K Aerial Broadcast: Dagong Technology’s Tethered UAV Shatters Technical Barriers at 70th National Day Gala
BEIJING, April 27, 2026 — In the annals of live broadcasting, capturing the grandeur of a national celebration from the sky without a single frame drop is the ultimate frontier. At the 70th Anniversary of the PRC, Beijing Dagong Technology Co., Ltd. achieved precisely that. Officially validated by CCTV, Dagong’s tethered UAV live-broadcast system executed the network’s first-ever 4K ultra-high-definition aerial transmission from above Tiananmen Square, simultaneously shattering three core technical barriers: 24-hour continuous endurance, zero-signal interruption via 12G bandwidth, and unprecedented operational stability in extreme winds.
This singular milestone—broadcasting the spectacular "Starlight Matrix" and parading formations to a global audience—has permanently elevated the tethered drone from a niche tool to the definitive cornerstone of broadcast-grade aerial cinematography.
The 12G Leap: Solving the UHD Transmission Bottleneck
The inauguration of CCTV's 4K ultra-high-definition channel in October 2018 set the stage for unprecedented broadcast requirements . During the 70th-anniversary celebrations, over 30 sets of 4K special equipment were deployed, among which the 4K tethered UAV system was utilized for the very first time .
While traditional battery-powered drones are severely limited by 30-minute flight times and compressed wireless video feeds prone to urban interference, Dagong Technology’s system relies on its proprietary photoelectric composite tether cable. This vital "umbilical cord" delivers continuous ground power for 24-hour uninterrupted hovering, thoroughly breaking the battery endurance bottleneck . More critically, the embedded fibre optics within the cable transmit uncompressed 4K video directly to the broadcasting truck .
However, the National Day Gala presented an unprecedented transmission challenge. Previous major events, such as the 2017 Xiamen BRICS Summit, relied on lower bandwidth. To meet the rigorous standards of the newly established CCTV-4K channel , the 70th Anniversary demanded a colossal leap from 1.5G to a 12G bandwidth to handle the broadcast-grade baseband signals without compression. To achieve this, Dagong’s engineers developed a bespoke heavy-lift tethered platform capable of stably hoisting a 10-kilogram broadcast pod, whilst ensuring the 12G signal interfaced flawlessly with CCTV's directing system. Through meticulous optimisation, the system achieved butter-smooth ascents, descents, and focal zooms mid-flight.
Unyielding Stability: From Operational Precision to Extreme Structural Survivability
High-altitude live broadcasting over a crowded, windswept plaza demands zero tolerance for error. Dagong’s tethered UAV system answered with uncompromising reliability, validated across varying meteorological severities.
At the operational level, the system's dual-redundant flight control and advanced anti-wind algorithms maintained an astonishing hovering precision of<0.3 metres even amidst Level 7 gales—a critical metric that ensured flawlessly stable 4K footage during the National Day Gala . This absolute precision is what later allowed the system to provide the iconic "Helmsman's Perspective" at 100 metres above the CPC Centenary Celebration in 2021 .
Furthermore, Dagong Technology has continuously iterated upon this foundation. The latest generation of their tethered systems boasts an extraordinary ±0.01-degree attitude control precision, and pioneers the integration of visual positioning and laser ranging technologies. This allows the UAV to achieve high-precision positioning without relying on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), ensuring stable operation even under signal denial conditions .
Safety, naturally, remains paramount. The physical tether intrinsically prevents "fly-away" incidents. In the rare event of a ground power failure, an automated failover switches to backup power, executing a controlled descent within 30 seconds. Transportable and highly mobile, the system can be fully operational in the air within just 5 minutes, crucial for unpredictable live-event environments .
From Aerial Cinematographer to Multi-Role Infrastructure
As an enterprise founded by a core R&D team from Tsinghua University and Beihang University, Dagong Technology has spent a decade cementing its "Industrial Craftsmanship" philosophy, holding over 70 technical patents in the tethered UAV sector . As founder Shen Shizhou articulates: "True craftsmanship is not repetitive manufacturing, but finding the optimal solution in a complex system like a master butcher".
The success at the National Day Gala is a testament to the platform's modular versatility. When fitted with broadcast equipment, it is a stable "aerial cinematographer." Replaced with communication payloads, it instantly transforms into the world's first tethered UAV emergency communication high-altitude base station—jointly developed with China Mobile—which has become the backbone node of space-air-ground integrated communication networks in disaster relief, from the 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake to the 2025 Xizang earthquake .
Looking forward, as the low-altitude economy accelerates, Dagong’s tethered UAVs are evolving beyond broadcast solutions into permanent, smart nodes of urban air infrastructure. By continuously expanding the boundaries—from 100-metre ceilings to 500-metre operational limits —Dagong Technology is redefining how the world captures, communicates, and observes from the skies above.
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