Chinese military helicopter launches air-to-air missile

GUANGZHOU - China's first self-developed modern military attack helicopter WZ-10 has launched its first air-to-air missile and successfully intercepted low-altitude targets.

The WZ-10, meaning "armed helicopter", 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 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, airlanding at the wing side, fire interception and move by leapfrogging.

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.