This is world's first fixed-wing drone made of bamboo fiber
04 Mar 2026

In a major breakthrough, Chinese researchers have unveiled the world's first fixed-wing drones made of bamboo fiber.

The innovative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is not only 20% lighter than its carbon fiber counterparts but also much cheaper to produce.

According to state news agency Xinhua, the bamboo-based material used in this new UAV costs about a quarter of the price of traditional carbon fiber cloth.

Bamboo can reduce overall structural costs by over 20%
Cost efficiency

The research team behind this innovative UAV claims that the use of bamboo fiber could reduce a drone's overall structural costs by over 20%.

The traditional drone industry relies on composite materials like carbon fiber, which are energy-intensive to produce and hard to degrade.

However, bamboo provides a sustainable alternative for creating lightweight and cost-effective drones.

Drone co-developed by several institutes and companies
Team effort

The bamboo fiber drone was co-developed by the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan in Beijing, Beihang University's Ningbo Institute of Technology, and foreign trade firm Long Bamboo Technology Group.

Project lead Qin Daochun told Xinhua that "bamboo-based composite materials for drones not only need to meet stringent mechanical performance requirements but also have to overcome a series of technical challenges such as molding processes and environmental adaptability."