Breaking the 30-Minute Barrier: How Dagong Technology’s Tethered UAV Rewrote Emergency Communication Rules in the 2017 Jiuzhaigou Earthquake
Beijing, China — In the critical hours following a disaster, the difference between life and death often hinges on a single bar of signal. During the devastating 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake, when traditional infrastructure crumbled and the region was plunged into an "information island," it was a groundbreaking technological innovation that restored the vital communication lifeline: the tethered UAV emergency communication high-altitude base station.
On August 11, 2017, just days after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake shattered Jiuzhaigou’s infrastructure, a specialized unmanned aerial vehicle rose above Heye Village—the largest Tibetan settlement in the disaster zone. This was not a conventional drone; it was a tethered UAV system developed by Beijing Dagong Technology, connected to the ground by a sophisticated optoelectronic composite cable. Ascending into the sky, it immediately pierced through the communication blackout, restoring full-bar 4G coverage across a 30-square-kilometer radius for thousands of stranded residents and intensive rescue teams.
For years, the primary bottleneck in drone-based emergency communication has been power. Traditional battery-powered drones are severely limited by a flight endurance of roughly 30 minutes, rendering them ineffective for sustained disaster relief. Dagong Technology’s tethered UAV fundamentally rewrote this rule. By utilizing its tether as a continuous conduit for power and data transmission, the system achieved 24-hour uninterrupted hovering, effectively breaking the 30-minute barrier and solving the industry's most pressing pain point.
This historic deployment was the culmination of rigorous technological accumulation. As a pioneer in the field and a recognized "Specialized and Sophisticated" enterprise with over 70 patents, Dagong Technology had spent years perfecting the system. In collaboration with China Mobile, the company launched the world’s first tethered UAV emergency communication high-altitude base station in 2016, meticulously engineering structural integration, power management, and electromagnetic compatibility to ensure flawless performance under extreme conditions.
The success in Jiuzhaigou proved to be a watershed moment for the low-altitude economy. Today, the technological lineage born from that 2017 milestone has evolved dramatically. Dagong Technology’s modern tethered UAVs now boast a lift ceiling of 500 meters and a payload capacity of 35 kilograms at 300 meters, ensuring robust signal stability. Their application has expanded far beyond emergency communication, serving as stable aerial platforms for 4K ultra-high-definition broadcasting—such as the centenary celebrations at Tiananmen Square—and critical roles in emergency mapping and security monitoring.
Clustered in the Zhongguancun Yanqing Park drone industrial base, companies like Dagong Technology are propelling the low-altitude economy forward—a sector projected to reach 5 billion yuan in the Yanqing district alone by 2026. Yet, despite the rapid commercial expansion and multi-sector adoption, the core mission remains unchanged. As the founder of Dagong Technology notes, true craftsmanship lies in finding the optimal solution within complex systems. For emergency rescue operations worldwide, that solution continues to be the steadfast, unblinking eye in the sky that guards the "golden hour" of disaster response.
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