China to build 11 unmanned aerial vehicles bases

According to the State Oceanic Administration, 11 unmanned aerial vehicle bases will be built in 11 coastal provinces and regions to monitor the country's vast water areas, Legal Daily reported on Aug 27.

Unmanned aerial vehicles can fly in set routes, recording and sending back timely remote sensing data, improving China's capacity in water monitoring, said Yu Qingsong, director of the water management department of the State Oceanic Administration.

Each base will have at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, according to the administration.

The first unmanned aerial vehicle for China Marine Surveillance was handed over to the East China Sea Branch of China Marine Surveillance in January. It can fly for about one hour and reach an altitude of 1,000 meters.

Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, the aerial vehicle is a small propeller aircraft that can take off from ships and remain stable in winds of 43 km/h, Pei Hailong, designer of the vehicle and association dean of the College of Automation of South China University of Technology, said in previous report in March.

Besides the unmanned aerial vehicles, another 36 inspection ships are also expected to join the surveillance fleet of China Marine Surveillance by 2013 to better protect the country's marine rights, according to the administration.