Tuesday, September 25, 2012

China's Growing Drone Fleet

Chinese Armed Police test a hand-thrown drone in 2009. China Military Report

China Plans To Begin Using Drones To Monitor Disputed Islands By 2015 -- Business Insider

China is planning to begin using "unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)" or drones by 2015, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

The announcement was made by State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Sunday. The agency had previously announced that they would use drones at some point for marine surveillance.

While the drones would not be deployed anytime soon, the timing of the announcement comes during heightened tensions between China and Japan over the islands known as Diaoyu in China and the Senkakus in Japan.

Read more
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Update #1: China to promote drones for marine surveillance -- Xinhuanet
Update #2: China to use drones in islands row -- The Independent/AP

My Comment:
I guess the Chinese are trying to "one-up" U.S. and Japanese efforts of using drones to watch each other.

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