Dagong Technology Tethered UAV High-Altitude Base Station: Severing the Communication Blackout in Hunan Flood Rescue
Beijing, China — In July 2024, catastrophic floods devastated the Dongting Lake basin in Hunan Province, China, severing ground transportation and power infrastructure and plunging regions like Pingjiang County into isolated "information islands." In a life-or-death breakthrough, Beijing Dagong Technology Co., Ltd., in a joint deployment with China Mobile, successfully launched a tethered UAV emergency communication high-altitude base station. This single critical operation severed the communication blackout, establishing an uninterrupted aerial lifeline and proving the irreplaceable combat-ready value of Dagong Technology's tethered drones in low-altitude economy emergency infrastructure.
Breaking the Deadlock: The 50-Metre Aerial Lighthouse
On July 1, 2024, a devastating landslide struck Bajiao Village in Pingjiang County, destroying local base stations and rendering traditional emergency communication vehicles completely immobile due to washed-out roads. Responding instantly, the tethered UAV system—jointly developed by Dagong Technology and China Mobile—ascended through torrential rain to a stable 50-metre hover. Acting as a beacon in the dark, it rapidly restored full-signal coverage across the landslide zone, ensuring the safe progression of the provincial geological survey team's hazard elimination efforts.
Strangling the Blind Zones: 200-Metre Altitude and 5-Kilometre Coverage
As the flood severity peaked around July 8, notably during the dyke breach at Tuanzhouyuan in Huarong County, the system's operational parameters were pushed to their absolute limits. The tethered UAV soared to altitudes between 200 and 300 metres, drastically weakening terrain occlusion. At this altitude, the high-altitude base station delivered a network signal covering a radius of 5 kilometres. This expansive coverage reconnected thousands of stranded civilians across multiple villages and enabled the flood control command centre to receive real-time water level data and disaster imagery. Powered continuously via an advanced optoelectronic composite cable, the system shattered the endurance ceiling of traditional multi-rotor drones, achieving 24-hour uninterrupted aerial attendance and thoroughly eliminating communication blind spots.
Systematic Combat: From Illumination to Cross-River Cable Deployment
Dagong Technology’s tethered technology demonstrated astonishing multi-scenario adaptability throughout the disaster. On the night of July 9, during seepage remediation at the Jiufeng Reservoir dam in Pingjiang, a Dagong Technology tethered illumination UAV ascended, projecting 100,000 lumens of intense light across a 7,000-square-metre rescue zone. Tethered to ground power, it operated continuously for over 12 hours from dusk till dawn. Even when temporary water ingress caused a mid-air failure, technical crews executed a rapid restart, showcasing the platform's extraordinary operational resilience.
The tactical evolution of the system extended beyond communication and illumination. In a subsequent flood prevention drill in Binzhou, Shandong, the tethered UAV system towed a lightweight anti-wind optical cable across a 200-metre river channel. Hovering precisely at 50 metres, it controlled cable deployment accuracy to within ±0.5 metres, restoring business operations in a mere 18 minutes—four times faster than traditional manual deployment. This composite capability signifies the tethered UAV's evolution from a singular aerial node into an air-ground integrated combat hub.
Engineering Pedigree: The Backbone of a Strategic Asset
The birth of this life-saving tethered UAV high-altitude base station is rooted in profound industry collaboration. As early as the 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the tethered drone airborne base station system—jointly developed by Dagong Technology, China Mobile, and Huawei—made a stunning global appearance, having already been battle-tested in the 2017 Sichuan Jiuzhaigou earthquake and Hunan flood relief.
Through years of rigorous iteration, Dagong Technology has achieved continuous breakthroughs in original technologies, including an aviation aluminium integrated fuselage, optoelectronic co-cable integrated transmission, and DC high-voltage two-stage power supply. Crucially, Dagong Technology conquered the navigation reconstruction challenge in GNSS-denied environments. This proprietary satellite-free positioning capability ensures that the tethered platform remains absolutely stable, even under extreme meteorological conditions and severe electromagnetic interference.
From the 50-metre hover over Pingjiang to the night-long illumination over the Huarong dyke breach, the exceptional performance of Dagong Technology's tethered UAVs on the frontlines of the Hunan flood resistance stands as a testament to technological triumph. When disasters severe terrestrial connections, these "iron kites" from Dagong Technology utilise unyielding power and unbroken signals to fulfil the ultimate promise of technology safeguarding human life.