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BEIJING: A senior military officer has told Xinhua that a network of air defense radars which is able to provide seamless surveillance to all Chinese territorial airspace has been completed.
Fang Lei, of the air force headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA), said the network could serve in all-weather conditions.
Air defense radars have been manufactured and deployed by the PLA since 1950 and relied on as the “first line of air defence”.
Air defense radar troops are among the high-tech intensive arms of the PLA services, Fang said, revealing that 85 percent of the officers in the arm held bachelor degrees or above.
More than 60 percent of air defense radars under human operation were deployed in regions with tough natural environment such as islands and highlands, the officer said.
The detection ability and overall capacity of the PLA's air defense radar network were “very close” to those of developed countries, he said.
With the PLA's modernization, the air defense radar arm would also provide support to the air force's offensive missions, and to other PLA services, Fang said.
