China and the United Arab Emirates are holding the second annual joint air force exercise Falcon Shield-2024 in the Xinjiang region, the Chinese Defence Ministry said.
The annual joint Chinese and UAE air force exercise, Falcon Shield-2024, has been held in the northwestern province of Xinjiang since late June and will last until the end of July.
The exercise between the two air forces aims to “strengthen mutual understanding and trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation, improve strategic cooperation and achieve common goals and expectations of both sides,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The exercise includes live firing, tactical training – individual and unit-based – and logistics organisation.
Last year, the Falcon Shield-2023 joint exercise was held in the same province in August.
Meanwhile, Chinese and Lao troops are holding a joint military exercise “China-Laos Friendship Shield-2024” in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Footage has appeared on the web showing Lao and Chinese soldiers practising intercepting a drone during the said manoeuvres by firing a handgun net at it from a certain distance. The net is designed to stop an approaching FPV drone.
In other joint military exercises, Chinese troops on Tuesday held the opening ceremony of the China-Belarus Eagle Assault-2024 exercise in the southwestern city of Brest in Belarus, along the border with Poland.
