New-version battle maps distributed to PLA troop units

A batch of new-version paper-made battle maps with a scale of 1:50,000 obtained by a motorized infantry brigade under the Lanzhou Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) from a measuring and mapping information center under the PLA Lanzhou MAC were quickly transferred to the frontline troop units participating in the trans-regional base training on the morning of July 9, 2014, marking that the distribution of a total of over 15 million new-version paper-made battle maps to the troop units under the Lanzhou MAC has been completed.

At the same time, the new-version maps' distribution work in various PLA major organizations in addition to the Lanzhou MAC will be completed soon. This is the first time for the PLA to completely update a single type of map in the past 30 years, according to sources.

For a long time, many PLA grassroots troop units used the old-version maps, most of which were made between 1960s and 1970s and could not meet the troop units' requirements for geographic information in fulfilling the tasks such as combat-readiness duty, combat training as well as emergency rescue and disaster relief. To solve this problem, the PLA general headquarters/departments started the new-version military maps' revision, measurement, updating and printing work in the second half of 2013, and the new-version maps have been distributed to all the PLA troop units by early July of 2014.

It is learned that the new-version maps, which fully meet the geographic information requirements of various services and arms of the PLA, adopt the geocentric coordinate system conforming to the international practice, and boast of more specific geomorphic features, more complete terrain factors, more exact geographic information and a more perfect map-products system.