Aviation Special :Wherever they're needed, its choppers are on site
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AVIC Vice-President Gu Huizhong (left) donating 20 million yuan to Yushu in Qinghai province, which was hit by an earthquake last year, on behalf of the company. |
When people think about getting a glimpse of China's latest defense armaments, they probably think National Day celebrations - say, about once every 10 years.
But for AVIC, China's military aviation equipment leader, waiting that long to make its presence felt does not make much sense. There are other occasions.
In case of disasters, for instance, AVIC is often one of the first on the scene.
Various bits of AVIC equipment have played an important role in earthquake relief, or ice disasters, or Olympic security, escorting ships in the Gulf of Aden, and other areas not often associated with national security.
When the earthquake disaster hit Sichuan on May 12, 2008, it was AVIC's helicopters that came to the rescue. They collected information by flying over the affected areas, then shuttled back and forth delivering relief goods and transporting injured people, at a time when outside assistance could not reach tens of thousands of victims because of damaged highways and bridges.
In short, they played a role that no other rescue group could match. The helicopters were given the name of "birds of life" by people in the disaster area.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, AVIC Z-9 helicopters cruised the skies of Beijing providing air patrol and emergency rescue services.
Made by its joint venture, CA-109 helicopter was used by CCTV to take aerial photographs of the Games, and by the police for security patrols, traffic monitoring, ground support and counter-terrorist efforts.
In the Gulf of Aden, Z-9 helicopters carried aboard ships were used for patrol, delivery, replenishment, and search and rescue missions, in 2008 and 2009.
And they broke records in the area of long shipboard tasks, frequent dispatches, and difficult landings. So, they have become an important force for international peace.
AVIC also says it supports public interest activities as a way of giving something back to the society.
In 2009, it donated 19.33 million yuan to charitable groups.
And, after the government called for greater poverty alleviation and social-harmony efforts, AVIC came up with a number of projects in Guizhou and Shaanxi to help improve living conditions there.
(China Daily 05/26/2011 page14)
