The Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration team completed its first adaptive training on Saturday for the upcoming 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai City of south China's Guangdong Province.
Also known as Airshow China or Zhuhai Airshow, the biennial aerospace trade show is scheduled for November 12 to 17.
It will be the first appearance of the Russian team at the airshow in eight years, and their first performance in China after changing into Su-35S heavy fighter jets.
Su-35S is a Flanker variant fitted with thrust-vectoring engines, which provide strong power for the pilots to conduct aerobatic maneuvers.
"Very good. We practiced the entire routine. Everything went well as planned and as how we discussed it would be like before the training," said Igor Tkachenko, a pilot of the aerobatic team.
"I feel good and I'm in a good mood. We were fully prepared today, and the weather was good, so our training went smoothly. We practiced Nesterov's loops, glides, oblique loops, and barrel turns in a six-plane formation. We also performed barrel rolls for the first time here," said Sergey Nakazny, another team member. As China's largest arms show and is recognized as one of the world's most important defense exhibitions, this year's Zhuhai Airshow has drawn 1,022 companies from 47 countries and regions, including Russia, France, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Italy.
Established in 1991, the Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration team has attended six editions of the Airshow China. It is the only aerobatic team in the world that performs with heavy fighter jets.
Russian Knights aerobatic team trains for Zhuhai Airshow
Russian Knights aerobatic team trains for Zhuhai Airshow
Russian Knights aerobatic team trains for Zhuhai Airshow
Russian Knights aerobatic team trains for Zhuhai Airshow
A new chapter has been opened in the decades-old campaign of fighting desertification in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the 3,046-km green belt encircling the Taklimakan Desert in the region was completed on November 28, 2024.
The Taklimakan Desert, once known as the "sea of death," covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 km, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world.
It has taken more than 40 years to fully enclose the desert with a green belt. This incredible achievement is part of China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation initiative. The program was launched in 1978 and is scheduled to be completed by 2050.
Xinjiang's commitment to fighting desertification did not waver following the green belt's completion. Instead, the region is continuing to expand and fortify the belt to achieve broader ecological management objectives.
Despite subzero temperatures and recent snowfall, the relentless work at the sand control site persists.
In Yutian County on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, workers are busy leveling a 530-hectare piece of sandy land for the forthcoming ecological conservation endeavors.
"It's been almost a month, and we'll work for another three or four days, and then we'll have leveled it out here," said a bulldozer driver working on-site.
In Luopu County also on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, workers are preparing red willow branches in nurseries for planting across more than 400 hectares of desert in the coming spring. Indigenous sand-fixing plants like sacsaoul and red willow are poised to assume important roles in fighting desertification the upcoming year.
The green belt surrounding the Taklimakan Desert not only emphasizes ecological conservation but also highlights economic progress. Through photovoltaic projects, the region is pioneering a novel ecological management strategy aimed at achieving dual objectives of environmental preservation and economic prosperity. This approach not only aids in fighting desertification, but also promises economic benefits, propelling sustainable development in the area.
Presently, the construction of a photovoltaic project within the Taklimakan Desert is busy underway, with workers installing solar panels. By spring, sand fixing plants like alfalfa and Chinese fountain grass will be planted below these panels, making the project a good example for the exploration of a new win-win model of ecological governance and economic development in Xinjiang.
Xinjiang opens new chapter in fighting desertification
