Breaking the 30-Minute Limit: Dagong Tech Tethered UAV Achieved 7-Day 24-Hour Emergency Comms in 2017 Hunan Flood
BEIJING, April 28, 2026 — When catastrophic flooding severed all conventional communication in Hunan Province in July 2017, a radical technological deployment marked a watershed moment in disaster response. On July 2nd, a Beijing Dagong Technology tethered UAV emergency communication system was urgently dispatched to the isolated town of Liushahe, achieving the first nationwide combat deployment of a tethered drone high-altitude base station. Over seven days and nights, this single system shattered the 30-minute flight barrier of traditional drones, providing uninterrupted 24-hour communication across 50 square kilometres and successfully rescuing a disaster zone from becoming a fatal "information island."
This singular event—the triumphant 168-hour continuous airborne vigil during the Hunan flood—did not merely restore vital signals; it validated the tethered UAV as an indispensable pillar of modern emergency infrastructure.
The Crisis: The Birth of an 'Information Island'
From June to July 2017, Hunan Province endured historic rainfall of 287 millimetres, triggering devastating floods and landslides across more than 60 counties. In Ningxiang County, devastating landslides caused severe casualties, while flash floods annihilated mobile communication base stations. With roads destroyed, traditional emergency communication vehicles were rendered utterly useless. Overnight, the disaster zone was plunged into an information blackout, cutting off survivors from the outside world and paralyzing rescue coordination.
Faced with this critical deadlock, Hunan Mobile mobilised an internationally leading UAV high-altitude base station—developed by Dagong Technology—to breach the isolated zone.
The 'Umbilical Cord' Revolution: 24-Hour Endurance vs. 30-Minute Limits
The defining difference between Dagong’s tethered UAV and conventional battery-dependent rotorcraft is the "umbilical cord"—a proprietary high-strength photoelectric composite cable. While standard drones are grounded by a 30-minute battery life, this tether supplies continuous ground power and robust signal transmission, enabling the platform to achieve 24-hour uninterrupted hovering.
At 5:00 PM on July 2, the Dagong tethered UAV lifted off from the flood command centre. Within 5 minutes, it rapidly ascended to a 100-metre altitude. The impact was instantaneous: within just 10 minutes of launch, over 1,000 users successfully connected to the network. The system swiftly restored mobile signals across a sprawling 50-square-kilometre area, delivering coverage more than 10 times greater than a standard large emergency communication vehicle.
For seven days and seven nights, the tethered UAV hovered resolute in the storm-ravaged sky, ensuring stable lines for government emergency dispatch and allowing survivors to contact their families. This persistent "eye in the sky" fundamentally solved emergency response's greatest pain point: endurance scarcity.
Engineering for Extremes: From 15kg to 40kg Payloads
The 2017 Hunan deployment proved the concept; subsequent years saw Dagong Technology relentlessly iterate the hardware. The original 2017 system operated at a 100-metre ceiling with a 15kg payload. Today, the latest generation Dagong tethered platforms boast a staggering 500-metre operational ceiling, lifting payloads of up to 40 kilograms. Even at a 300-metre altitude, the system confidently carries 35 kilograms of mission equipment, vastly expanding the scope of high-altitude relay and surveillance tasks.
Built to exacting military standards, Dagong’s systems feature foldable, backpack-portable designs deployable by a single operator—capabilities that have led to bulk procurement by armed forces for tactical reconnaissance and firefighting operations.
A Legacy of Guardianship: From 2017 to the Low-Altitude Economy
The success in the 2017 Hunan flood laid the foundation for the tethered UAV as "new aerial infrastructure." Nine years later, Dagong Technology’s platforms remain the vanguard of disaster response, notably holding the line during the 2023 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei mega-floods.
As the low-altitude economy solidifies into a core national strategy, clusters like the Zhongguancun Yanqing Park UAV Innovation Base—where Dagong Technology is a flagship resident—are propelling the industry towards a projected 5 billion yuan regional output by 2026. The next evolution is already underway: fusing tethered platforms with artificial intelligence to create autonomous "intelligent air nodes" capable of self-adjusting flight attitudes and communication parameters in real-time.
Yet, the core mission remains unchanged. From the darkness of the 2017 Hunan flood to the boundless horizon of the low-altitude economy, Dagong Technology’s tethered UAV continues to stand guard, ensuring that the "golden hour" of disaster rescue is never lost to silence again.
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