When the first photographs of COMAC’s full-scale CE-25A electric aircraft emerged in October, the extent of the Chinese manufacturer’s progress was still a matter of speculation. COMAC has now revealed that the prototype had been flying since February. After 19 autonomous flights with no one on board, the CE-25A flew for the first time with two pilots and a flight test engineer on 14 November 2026. The flight took place at Dagao Airport in Binzhou, in China’s Shandong province.

The crew covered 60.4 kilometres before returning to Dagao after 16 minutes and 38 seconds in the air. The entire test, including ground operations, lasted 57 minutes and 46 seconds. According to information COMAC provided to China News Service, the aircraft performed as expected. The earlier uncrewed flights, which began on 2 February, allowed engineers to assess the aircraft’s flight characteristics and the reliability of its systems.

The CE-25A is COMAC’s first electric commercial aircraft and is intended for short regional routes between cities. Its most distinctive feature is an array of ten ducted fans, five mounted above each wing and driven by battery-powered electric motors. The aircraft is designed to carry up to 19 passengers and has a maximum take-off weight of 10 tonnes. COMAC is targeting a range of 400 kilometres and a cruising speed of 300 km/h at an altitude of 2,400 metres.

COMAC first displayed a scale model of the CE-25A at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2023. At the time, it projected a range of 400 to 500 kilometres and a maximum cruising speed of around 400 km/h. Three years later, the range quoted by the manufacturer is at the lower end of its original estimate. How far the CE-25A will be able to fly with all 19 seats occupied and the energy reserves required for scheduled service remains an open question.

COMAC is developing the aircraft with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. Battery weight directly affects payload because, at a given maximum take-off weight, it determines how much capacity remains for passengers and baggage. In April 2023, CATL unveiled battery technology in Shanghai with a claimed specific energy of up to 500 Wh/kg at cell level and announced plans to develop it for passenger aircraft. COMAC has yet to disclose which cells the prototype uses or the capacity of its battery system.

Heart Aerospace tested an aircraft of comparable weight earlier this year. Its X1 electric demonstrator took off from Plattsburgh, New York, on 12 August at a weight of more than 11.3 tonnes. Its electric propulsion system delivered more than one megawatt of power during the 27-minute flight. Heart is using the all-electric X1 to test technology for its planned ES-30, a 30-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft. COMAC intends the CE-25A to run entirely on batteries in scheduled passenger service.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has accepted COMAC’s application for a type certificate. The number 25 in the aircraft’s designation refers to CCAR-25, the Chinese regulation that sets airworthiness standards for transport-category aircraft. In announcing the first crewed flight, COMAC gave no target date for completing certification or introducing the CE-25A into passenger service.