CHELYABINSK, Russia, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Five Chinese JH-7A fighter-bombers carried out their first reconnaissance mission in China-Russia joint military drills here Tuesday.

The flight lasted for more than an hour and focused on getting familiar with the environment, unaided eye reconnaissance and searching for combat targets, said Wang Xiaoliang, one of the pilots.

Since the Chinese unit arrived here Friday, they had been briefed by their hosts on airport procedures, airspace control, weather conditions and notice alerts, and had examined the runway, tarmac and tower, Wang said.

The joint drill, code-named Peace Mission-2013 and running from July 27 to Aug. 15, has three phases -- troop deployment, battle planning and simulated combat.

The JH-7A, developed in the 1990s, is a multirole interdiction and attack aircraft capable of delivering a full range of precision guided and stand-off weapons.