BEIJING - Chinese army will put armed helicopters in training programs for combat operations, according to Sunday's PLA Daily, the flagship newspaper of China's armed forces.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) planned to change the training strategy of its army aviation unit as more and more armed helicopters joined the service, said the newspaper story, quoting a meeting of army aviation unit.

The focus of army aviation unit will be shifted from logistics missions to combat ones, from building the capacity for non-war military actions to core military actions, the newspaper report said.

The unit will work on major missions such as long-distance tasks, large scale offshore operations, attack coordination with other units and large scale airborne operations, the report said.

The unit also aims to improve its operation capability based on IT technologies, it said.

Related stories:

PLA to strengthen combat readiness

Xi orders PLA to become ready for 'real combat'