Chinese helicopter successfully launches air-to-air missiles

BEIJING: For the first time, Chinese military has fired air-to-air missiles from the indigenously-made military attack helicopter, successfully intercepting low-altitude targets.

The military attack helicopter WZ-10 carried out the launch during a live-fire drill involving army aviation troops of the People's Liberation Army in the eastern waters off south China's Guangdong Province last week, the biggest test yet for the army's aviation wing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The successful launch indicates an increased role for the helicopter in countering enemy aircraft.

The drill, which was also the largest-scale activity held to study combat methods since the building up of the aviation troops, conducted six operations, covering fire, close fire support, special assaults, air landing at the wing side, fire interception and move by leapfrogging, the report said.

The WZ-10 is designed primarily for anti-tank missions and was first seen in public at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai in Guangdong in 2012.

China has started producing most of its military hardware rather than importing it till last decade from its main supplier, Russia, as the world second largest economy increased its defence spending significantly and developed technical sophistication.