Why has Zhuzhou, Hunan Province become the largest small and medium-sized aircraft engine development and production base in the country?

China News Service, Zhuzhou, November 7 (Feng Jun) Zhuzhou, Hunan is a "city brought by trains." But few people know that nine of every ten small and medium-sized aviation engines in China are produced here.

Not long ago, the AES100 civil turboshaft engine won the only special prize of the China Aeronautical Society's Science and Technology Progress Award; in December, it will be unveiled again at the 16th China Air Show. The engine was jointly developed by China Aviation Development Hunan Power Machinery Research Institute (referred to as the Research Institute) and China Aviation Development Southern Industrial Co., Ltd. (referred to as Southern Company) located in Zhuzhou. It is my country's first 1,000-kilowatt civilian turboshaft engine developed in accordance with internationally accepted airworthiness standards and with completely independent intellectual property rights.

Starting from "one factory, one institute", Zhuzhou has cultivated hundreds of supporting enterprises. Zhuzhou's small and medium-sized aero-engine cluster is included in the national advanced manufacturing cluster, which is the city's second "national team" after rail transit equipment. Data released by the official website of the Zhuzhou Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology shows that the scale of the city’s aviation equipment and low-altitude economic industry will reach 40 billion yuan in 2025.

The AES100 engine won the only special prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Photo courtesy of the Institute of Animal Science

Five kilometers apart: one produces drawings and the other produces products

The industrial code is hidden within a radius of five kilometers in Lusong District, Zhuzhou City. The Institute of Engineering, which specializes in aero-engine design, and Southern Company, which specializes in manufacturing, are both rooted here.

"The Institute of Animal Research was established in 1968. After three moves and four reforms, it finally landed in Zhuzhou and was built adjacent to Southern Company." Shen Yubing, Development Planning Department of the Institute of Animal Research, said that over the decades, the two parties have formed a "factory collaboration" mechanism of shared responsibilities, shared interests, and industrial linkage. They jointly established a product management committee and achieved "six unifications": unified goals, unified teams, unified plans, unified processes, unified standards, and unified platforms.

The two parties also unified the information collaboration platform, and everyone shares a three-dimensional model. Once the design changes, the process, tooling, procurement, and production ends receive information simultaneously.

"The real-time sharing of data flows and the online collaboration of business flows directly support the efficient development of 'one year design, one year production' of small and medium-sized aircraft products, establishing the 'Zhuzhou Speed'," said Deng Wenjun, deputy director of the Planning and Development Department of Southern Company.

The efficiency improvements brought about by "factory-office collaboration" are obvious. The development of traditional small and medium-sized aero engines often takes 20 to 30 years, but the AES100 takes less than ten years from project establishment to obtaining production license.

In the civil aviation track, the advantages of "factory collaboration" continue to play a role. The two parties cooperate to develop markets, cooperate in manufacturing and delivery, cooperate in cost control, cooperate in supply chain management, and cooperate in service guarantee. In early 2026, the Institute of Dynamics and Southern Company jointly established Hangfa General Aviation Power Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of 3.5 billion yuan to completely separate the general aviation power business from the traditional military industry system and implement fully market-oriented operations.

At present, "one factory, one institute" has formed a civilian pedigree represented by AES100. The AEP100 turboprop engine serves general aviation aircraft and business aircraft; the AEF100 turbofan engine is oriented to the jet business aircraft market; the AEP500 meets the needs of medium-sized passenger and cargo transport turboprop aircraft and large seaplanes; the AES20 small turboshaft engine is oriented to low-altitude operations such as agriculture, forestry, plant protection, and power inspection...

“The civil aviation business of the two companies accounts for an increasing proportion.” Shen Yubing said that in addition to domestic airworthiness qualifications, “one factory, one institute” is promoting international airworthiness certification work to pave the way for products to go overseas.

The SA750U large unmanned transport aircraft soaring in the sky. Photo courtesy of Shanhe Star Navigation

From an engine to an industrial cluster

At the government level, Zhuzhou has listed aviation equipment and low-altitude economy as one of 13 emerging advantageous and characteristic industrial chains that are focused on cultivating. At present, more than 120 companies in the chain have been gathered here, covering the entire process of R&D and design, raw materials, parts manufacturing, complete machine manufacturing, general aviation operations and maintenance support. 105 innovation platforms such as the National Key Laboratory of Helicopter Transmission Technology have been built here, and it has taken the lead or participated in the formulation of 1,583 national and industry standards.

"Aero engine production is characterized by multiple varieties, small batches, and high difficulty, and it cannot follow the path of mass manufacturing." Deng Wenjun said that Southern Company's solution is "small core, large collaboration": focus on engine assembly, testing and core parts, and then use social resources to carry out collaborative supporting.

A number of materials and parts companies have therefore gathered in Zhuzhou. Zhuzhou Hanjie Aviation is one of the main precision parts suppliers of Southern Company. Its high-temperature alloy self-locking nuts can maintain a strong locking state at a temperature of 700 degrees Celsius. Times New Materials, a subsidiary of CRRC, has installed high-speed rail vibration damping materials in aerospace engines in a "cross-border" manner.

In industrial clusters, there are also many companies that are fission cells from "one factory, one institute". Hunan Xingtu Airlines was formerly a production center directly under Southern Company. It became independent after the mixed-ownership reform in 2018 and now manufactures key parts such as engine fasteners and steel parts.

The engines built by "one factory, one institute" will eventually fly. Next to Zhuzhou Aviation City, Lusong General Airport is the first A1 general aviation airport in Hunan Province and the only "dual certificate" general aviation airport approved by the military and civil aviation in Hunan Province. It has opened 5 low-altitude routes.

"The engine is the heart, and the entire aircraft is the carrier. We transform the cluster's engine advantages into low-altitude equipment advantages." Sunward Star is one of the few complete aircraft manufacturing companies in Zhuzhou. Deng Yu, general manager of the company, said that manufacturing aircraft in Zhuzhou has outstanding location advantages: first, the power supporting facilities are "close to the waterfront"; second, the test flight operation conditions are complete; third, the policy environment is leading; and fourth, the industrial supporting facilities and talent accumulation are deep.

The Sunward SA750U large unmanned transport aircraft is China's first unmanned transport aircraft with a load capacity of over 3.5 tons. In April this year, it was equipped with an AEP 100-megawatt hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine and completed the world's first aerial test flight at Zhuzhou Lusong Airport, achieving the first aerial adaptation verification of this type of engine and a large unmanned transport aircraft platform.

"Our downstream customers continue to expand application scenarios, which in turn help us optimize engine performance." Both Deng Wenjun and Shen Yubing said that "one factory, one institute" is located in Zhuzhou, and engine modifications basically do not need to go out of the city: customers put forward new scenario requirements, the design office changes the drawings, the whole machine factory next door uses them for trial production and verification, and the surrounding supporting factories rush out new parts, so that iteration can be completed quickly.

At present, the general navigation scene is fully rolled out in Zhuzhou City. Emergency rescue helicopters are on standby at Zhuzhou Central Hospital, and the unmanned freight platform is connected with logistics companies such as SF Express. The tethered drone fire truck independently developed by Sunward Star has also passed the provincial emergency acceptance and moved from the exhibition hall to the actual fire scene. The next step for its large unmanned transport aircraft is feeder logistics, island supply, and forest firefighting.

From "one factory, one institute" to more than 120 upstream and downstream enterprises, to an industrial cluster with an output value of tens of billions of yuan, "a big country with important equipment" has taken root and grown in this inland city, spreading a new picture of the aviation industry.