The armed-type Zhi-11, a new type of China-made gunship, made its first flight successfully in Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, east China, Monday, marking a latest progress for China's efforts to upgrade its gunship products.

The first flight was conducted at the Lumeng Airport, which is located in Jingdezhen, where the Changhe Aircraft Industry Group, a major gunship manufacturer in the country, is located.

The armed-type Zhi-11 is a light-type gunship and it has been independently developed by Chinese on the basis of the Zhi-11 series of helicopter, according to company sources.

The Zhi-11 family, which passed official appraisal in December 2000 and entered into batch production since then, has been well sold at home and abroad. Early this year, the company began studying the armed type of Zhi-11 helicopter.

Wang Bin, chairman of the board and general manager, addressed the first-test-flight ceremony, pledging that his company will continue the efforts to improve the internal and outer quality of their products.