China Solves Drone Inspection Challenge in Remote Mountain Areas with No Signal Coverage for the First Time

On July 14, 2026, Yunnan Power Grid completed China’s firstever onsite inspection using satellitedirectconnected drones in Jianshui County, Honghe Prefecture.

The total length of mountainarea power transmission lines in this region is approximately 4,800 kilometers. Restricted by poor communication conditions in deep mountainous terrain, drone inspection missions previously required field operators to carry ground differential base stations, remote controllers and other supporting equipment. The operating radius of drones was merely 3 kilometers. Beyond this range, signal disconnection frequently occurred, leading to flight interruptions. The conventional solution featured heavy manpower reliance, low operational efficiency, high safety risks and insufficient operational stability.

Leveraging cuttingedge technologies, data from ground differential base stations and remote control commands are transmitted to satellites via ground satellite communication terminals. Satellites then send control signals directly to drones, establishing a direct link of “Ground Station → Satellite → Drone”. This fundamentally eliminates the risk of drone lossofcontrol caused by signal blockage in mountainous terrain, addresses the pain points of longdistance and longduration autonomous inspection, and greatly boosts operational efficiency.

This technology cuts manpower requirements for deepmountain inspection and mitigates onsite operation safety risks. It substantially improves the capability for hiddendanger detection of mountain power grids, creates a new technical paradigm for powergrid operation and maintenance in mountainous and remote areas across China, and underpins the safe operation of power grids through technological innovation.