A drone is helping border soldiers in Tacheng Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to conduct missions. Screenshot from CCTV

Drones are helping border soldiers in Tacheng Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to conduct missions more effectively as they can shorten the task time by a third, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tacheng sub-command recently conducted an exercise where they used drones to track "terrorists" who had escaped to the dead zone of monitors and hide in trees and snow. 

The drones, using thermal imaging, located the suspects in a time frame a third shorter than usual, according to the CCTV report. 

Wang Ruida, a border soldier in Tacheng, told CCTV that the landform in Tacheng is very complex with many ravines. The combination of monitors and drones can help locate suspects sooner. 

Tacheng is a border city in Xinjiang connecting China and Kazakhstan. With a population of 910,800, Tacheng covers 105,400 square kilometers.

As early as January, 2020, CCTV had reported that the PLA Xinjiang Military Command had been using modified drones to conduct border patrols for a year. Military experts said drone technology is increasingly being used across Chinese military services.

If one surveillance camera reports an unidentified person attempting to cross through border barbed wire, a fast-reaction team would immediately fly a hexacopter drone to lead the way for the troops, according to media reports.

Outfitted with a loudspeaker, the drone can be used to send warnings and expel the suspects. Then, ground troops would arrive, thanks to the drone's guidance, and capture the suspects.

Since the Xinjiang Military Command began to operate drones, border defense troops have received a significant boost in their combat capability, experts said.

Global Times