Chinese military tests heavy pontoon bridge on Brahmaputra

BEIJING: Chinese army has tested a new-type of heavy-duty pontoon bridge on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet during a military exercise.

The bridge was tested at a wartime river-crossing support drill organised by an engineer regiment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army this month on the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra), according to a report in the state-run People's Daily online.

During the drill, the officers and men of the regiment conducted the drill on pontoon bridge erection with new-type heavy pontoon bridge equipment.

The new-type heavy bridge equipment adopts modular configuration and its structure can change at any time.

With a great load capacity, the new-type box-type raft of pontoon can ferry heavy weaponry and equipment across great rivers, it said.

Besides, the bridge uses electronic control means, thus its degree of mechanisation and automation improved significantly.

It can effectively solve problems arising from accurate positioning and docking by means of satellite navigation and positioning and fast connection of nano-anchor steel, the report said.