Xi'an: National Day parade UAVs head home

By Yuan Yue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-22 15:21

The 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) paraded during the National Day celebration have been sent back to Xi'an and are now on display at the City Gate Plaza in the city's Gaoxin District.

"These UAVs include short-range and medium-range unmanned surveillances," said Wang Baojun, secretary of the UAV Institute director at Northwestern Polytechnical University, which took on the research and development of the UAVs. "They are the most recent achievements of the PLA."

UAVs are more flexible and easier to operate compared with manned aircrafts and are attracting increased international attention. The 10 Xi'an-made UAVs are leading the world in the technologies involved.

"All of them are run by computer programs instead of remote devices on the ground and they can perform various tasks, battle reconnaissance, damage assessment, border patrol, aerial photographing, to name just a few," Wang explained.

According to the institute, the UAVs will be handed to the PLA for military use after being displayed in Xi'an.