A specialized unit dedicated to detecting and dealing with small unmanned aircraft has been set up within the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Its main focus is small, slow-moving drones flying at an altitude of less than 1,000 meters, the PLA Air Force said in a news release on Thursday - without revealing how many such targets had been engaged or when the unit was set up.

Small drones can pose a substantial threat to key positions as their size makes them difficult to detect with radar, the news release explained.