Multi-type attack helicopters attached to an aviation brigade of the PLA 73rd Group Army lift off from a military airfield for a night flight training exercise on December 13, 2017.

The new Chinese WZ-10 and WZ-19 reconnaissance and attack helicopters take part in this flight training exercise.

Chinese Army Aviation’s increasing resources were reflected in the build-up of new brigades combining multiple helicopter regiments. By 2013 the Lanzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Chengdu Military Area (Region) Commands had new Army Aviation brigades, with some sources speculating that by the 2020s the PLA could have 10 such brigades with around 1,000 helicopters.

Photo by Li Shilong and Yang Changping