China, Russia complete first stage of joint military exercise

China

China, Russia complete first stage of joint military exercise

2024-09-15 19:58 Last Updated At：21:47

The naval and air forces from China and Russia on Sunday completed the first stage of their joint military drills code-named "Northern/Interaction-2024".

According to a statement announced by China's Ministry of National Defense on Monday, the drills aimed to deepen strategic cooperation between the two sides and strengthen their ability to respond to security threats.

During the five-day exercises, the naval and air forces from both sides completed multi-subject tasks in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan to test the tactical command coordination and joint operation capabilities of the two sides.

Ship-to-sea firing was launched right after the fleets reached the designated waters. According to the information sent by the air forces, the maritime joint operation group locked on to the enemy ships quickly and conducted simulated missile attacks.

Sailors used radars and photoelectricity to constantly update information about aerial targets.

Chinese guided-missile destroyer Wuxi and Russian corvette Sovershennyy fired one after another, and they both hit the targets.

"High intensity and fast pace are the prominent features of the drills, which required us to better demonstrate our continuous combat capability. Especially in anti-aircraft firing by secondary guns, the lead ship fired and hit the target instantly in the fleeting combat window. This has fully demonstrated our ability and training level," said Song Qinglong, a Chinese sailor.

As night fell, under the command of the Chinese side, the joint maritime taskforce conducted ship-to-sea firing by main guns. After Chinese guided-missile destroyer Xining took the firing position, sailors at the main firing potion carried out attacks according to the instruction and destroyed the targets successfully.

"In the drills, we applied real battlefield environment to conduct exercises on subjects such as ship-to-sea firing by main guns and anchorage ground defense at night, and effectively dealt with all kinds of emergencies in the darkness of night. We achieved the desired effect through the drills," said Dong Kai, another Chinese sailor.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts enter Tiangong space station, meet Shenzhou-21 crew

The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship have entered the country's Tiangong space station and met with their astronaut colleagues early Monday morning, as they now begin an in-orbit crew handover.

Mission commander Zhu Yangzhu and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying successfully entered the station's core module Tianhe after the spaceship made a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the Tianhe module at 02:45 (Beijing Time) on Monday.

The three Shenzhou-21 crew members opened the hatch at 05:13 (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts then took group pictures for the eighth in-orbit get-together in China's aerospace history.

Notably, one of the Shenzhou-23 crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

The Shenzhou-23 spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 (Beijing Time) on Sunday.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.