(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-29 15:29

A Chinese army aviation unit, consisting of 16 helicopters, flew to Russia on Sunday for a joint anti-terrorism drill to be held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The helicopters took off from an airport based in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 9:54 a.m. and would fly 2,700 kilometers to get to the drill venue, said Major General Ma Xiangsheng, one of the top Chinese officers in charge of the drill.
"The flight will be a good test for China's army aviation troops due to its long distance, complicated topographic and climatic conditions on the way as well as possible language barriers with the ground service in Russia," Ma said.

"The formation will fly over Altay Mountains with an altitude over 4,000 meters when it crosses the Sino-Russian border, which demands full technical preparations," Ma said.

"The unit has carefully studied the map, made several counterplans and loaded the helicopters with sufficient aviation materials to ensure a successful flight," he said.

According to him, China will send to Russia a total of 16 Mi-17 transportation helicopters and 16 Z-9 armed helicopters, which are mixed into two units to fly to Russia, Ma said.

The "Peace Mission 2007" drill will be carried out in Chelyabinsk in Russia and in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

The six member countries of the SCO -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- will stage the joint anti-terrorism drill from Aug. 9 to 17.

It will involve 6,000 military personnel, including 4,700 Russian soldiers and 36 aircraft.