The Chinese military has ceased most of its commercial activities, and is on target to end all such activities by the end of the year, according to Xinhua News Agency.By the end of last month, 100,000 out of 106,000 commercial programs undertaken by the People's Liberation Army had ended, marking an achievement in the PLA's decommercialization efforts, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.The report quoted a PLA department in charge of the work as saying that the Central Military Commission pays great attention to the decommercialization efforts, adding that 26 central government departments and nine commission agencies have been working together to push forward the objective.Plans for the remaining commercial activities, which are sophisticated or sensitive, are being made in accordance with related policies, while issues pertaining to legal affairs, employees, assets and debts have been properly handled according to agreed-upon schedules, the department added.It noted that inspectors will be sent to PLA units to examine whether commercial activities have ceased and whether employees have been adequately compensated. Members of the PLA or the public are also welcome to report concerns via a hotline or email, according to the report.The Chinese military started running its own businesses in the mid-1980s to offset a sharp decrease in the defense budget ordered by then-leader Deng Xiaoping.In 1992, the Central Military Commission officially approved commercial activities by the PLA and the People's Armed Police Force.In February 2016, the commission ordered the PLA and the Armed Police Force to eradicate all commercial activities within three years.Last month, the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, State Council and Central Military Commission jointly published the Guidelines on the Complete Halt of the Military's Commercial Activities, requesting that units of the PLA and the Armed People Force cease all commercial activities by year-end.The document also stipulates that all property, land and reception facilities owned by the military that have been used for commercial purposes will be directly administered and allocated by the Central Military Commission. rubber wristbands in bulkwristbands with tabsrubber bracelets cheap
Chinese-made drone capable of reconnaissance/combat missions China recently flight-tested an unmanned reconnaissance/combat helicopter on a plateau in Qinghai province, according to Aviation Industry Corp of China, the State-owned aircraft giant. The AV500W unmanned autonomous helicopter was flown for the first time on Saturday on a plateau test base in Golmud of the northwestern province of Qinghai, which has an altitude of 4,300 meters. Air-to-ground missiles were fired by the drone and hit targets during the test, the AVIC Helicopter Research and Development Institute in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, said in a news release sent to China Daily on Thursday. The test showed that the AV500W is capable of conducting reconnaissance or strike operations on high-altitude regions, paving the way for deployment of such aircraft on plateaus, according to the institute, the helicopter's developer. The 7.2-meter-long drone has a maximum takeoff weight of 500 kilograms on plains, but the carrying capacity would be reduced to 430 kg on plateaus, said the release. It has a maximum speed of 170 kilometers per hour, and is able to fly four hours in a single mission. The helicopter can carry up to 120 kg of weapons and equipment, according to the release. The institute said that there are many users in the international market wishing to employ unmanned helicopters to serve civilian and military purposes, noting such demand has been "especially urgent" for China's plateau areas. The helicopter is good in terms of mobility, deployability, penetration capability as well as automation. It also has a stealth design. A typical mission would be a precision attack on light-duty armored vehicles and personnel, the institute said, adding it can be useful in counter-terrorism, riot control, communication relay, and drug and smuggling suppression. All of the military drones China has offered to the international market have been fixed-wing models, making the AV500W the first Chinese unmanned military helicopter available in that market, industry observers said. Materials about the AV500W previously distributed by the institute show that an armed AV500W typically carries four air-to-ground missiles. Each missile weighs 8 kg and can hit a target 5 km away. The aircraft can also carry bombs or a machine-gun pod. Jiang Taiyu, one of the chief designers of the AV500W, said all of the helicopter's tests will be finished before the end of this year and it will be ready for mass production in 2018. He said only the United States and Israel have developed unmanned armed helicopters, such as the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout in the US. The aircraft can take off and land autonomously on any landform, according to Jiang. Its target market will be countries dealing with terrorism such as those in the Middle East, he said, adding the institute plans to develop a shipborne variant.
