China Flight-Tests Drone Made With High-Performance Bamboo Composites

Updated on August 15, 2026 • 5 min read

A Chinese development team has completed multiple test flights of a lightweight drone that replaces part of the aircraft’s conventional composite structure with bamboo-based materials, demonstrating another potential application for natural fiber composites beyond furniture and consumer products.

According to CCTV News, the aircraft was developed using a bamboo processing technology created by Long Bamboo, a company based in Fujian Province in eastern China.

The technology enables bamboo to be flattened while retaining its tough outer layer, allowing different sections of the bamboo to be selected and used according to their density and material characteristics.

The resulting bamboo composites account for more than 25% of the drone, while the aircraft’s fuselage skin is made entirely from the company’s high-performance bamboo composite material.

New Process Preserves Bamboo’s Outer Layer

One of the central developments behind the project is the way the bamboo itself is processed.

Conventional bamboo processing often removes or discards the material’s outer skin. According to the company, this material was commonly treated as waste and could ultimately be converted into relatively low-value bamboo charcoal.

Long Bamboo instead developed a method that preserves the outer layer while flattening the bamboo.

This enables the manufacturer to make greater use of the material’s natural structure rather than treating bamboo simply as a uniform feedstock.

Different sections can subsequently be allocated according to their density and properties, providing greater control over the performance of the finished material.

Bamboo Composites Make Up More Than 25% of Drone

The experimental aircraft demonstrates how this material can move into a more demanding lightweight structure.

According to information released by the company, bamboo-based composites represent more than one-quarter of the complete drone.

Most notably, the entire fuselage skin uses the company’s bamboo composite.

Despite having a wingspan exceeding 2.5 meters, the aircraft weighs approximately 7 kilograms.

The development team spent four years establishing material data models, modifying manufacturing equipment and refining the material before reaching the current flight-test stage.

The drone has now successfully completed multiple test flights, CCTV News reported.

Cost Could Be a Major Advantage

The project is not positioning bamboo as a universal replacement for aerospace-grade carbon fiber.

However, cost could make it interesting for applications where the highest mechanical performance available from carbon fiber is not required.

According to the information released about the project, the bamboo-based material costs approximately one-quarter to one-tenth the price of aviation-grade carbon fiber.

That difference could potentially create opportunities in cost-sensitive lightweight structures where natural materials can provide sufficient performance.

The company also highlights the material’s end-of-life characteristics, stating that it can naturally degrade after the aircraft is retired.

Bamboo Moves Beyond Traditional Products

The drone forms part of a broader effort in China to develop higher-value applications for bamboo.

Traditionally associated with products such as furniture and tableware, bamboo is increasingly being investigated as an industrial material.

Bamboo fiber is already finding applications in automotive interiors, while bamboo-derived materials are being evaluated as potential alternatives to plastics, glass fiber and carbon fiber in selected applications.

The important distinction is “selected applications.” Carbon fiber, glass fiber and bamboo-based composites have substantially different mechanical, environmental and processing characteristics, meaning substitution depends on the requirements of the individual component.

China’s Bamboo Resources Support Material Development

China has a substantial domestic resource base to support further development.

According to CCTV News, the country has approximately 7.56 million hectares of bamboo forests and has developed extensive capabilities in bamboo cultivation, processing and material utilization.

Moving bamboo into engineered composite structures could increase the value obtained from this existing resource.

The 7-kilogram drone provides an early demonstration of that direction. Rather than using bamboo primarily for its appearance or environmental positioning, the project integrates the material into the aircraft’s physical structure — including 100% of its fuselage skin.

With multiple test flights already completed, the project shows how engineered bamboo composites are beginning to move from traditional products toward lightweight transportation and unmanned aircraft applications.

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