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PLA's UAVs achieve 'combat effectiveness'

By Uking Sun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-10 11:21

China's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have made great strides in recent years, and the W-50 pilotless aircraft, already entered into active service with China People's Liberation Army (PLA) units, have formed "combat effectiveness," China News Agency reported, citing sources from the third China UAVs Expo.

Fifty-two new drones from 70 military research and mapping institutes, such as W-50 and Z-3 unmanned aircraft, made their debuts at the three-day Expo organized by Aviation Industry Corp of China, Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Equipment Department of China PLA Air Force in Beijing. Organizers hope the Expo can serve as a platform for research, production, application, management and trading, the report said.

The W-50 drone, fitted with CCD cameras and photographic reconnaissance systems, can be used for battlefield surveillance, evaluation of strikes, and other military tasks.

PLA's 10 UAVs made their debut at the National Day parade in October 2009.

Z-3 drone developed by the 60th Research Institute of PLA General Staff Department. [Photo/Men Guangkuo]

File photo of unmanned aerial vehicles in a parade for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing, Oct 1, 2009. [Photo/Xinhua]