Chinese firm breaks world record with over 1,300 dancing drones

Lighting up the sky of the ancient Chinese city of Xi’an, 1,374 illuminated drones broke a Guinness World Record on Sunday for the most unmanned aerial vehicles simultaneously airborne.

The drones from Chinese drone company, Ehang Egret, were flown simultaneously in a 13-minute flight that saw the drones spread over a kilometre. It beat the previous record set by U.S. technology firm Intel, which in February flew 1,218 drones simultaneously at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

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As part of the performance, the drone formation spelled out a popular political slogan and paid tribute to President Xi Jinping’s cornerstone foreign policy initiative, One Belt One Road.

China has championed rapid development in its tech sector in a bid to build world-leading firms and reduce dependence on foreign products, including semiconductors, robots and drones.

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Ehang first made headlines in 2016 when it unveiled a passenger drone concept, which it said would retail at up to $300,000. Earlier this year the company said it had completed tests for the vehicle, which is capable of carrying one person at speeds of up to 130 kilometres per hour.