China continues to upgrade its oceanic surveillance systems with the launch of three new satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Group 04 of Yaogan Weixing-31 satellites launched at 02:20 UTC on 13 March from launch pad 94 of the LC-43 launch complex on a Chang Zheng 4C rocket.
As usual, Chinese media refer to the new satellites as being used “for electromagnetic environment surveys and other related technology tests,” and the mission is similar to the Yaogan-31 Group 01, Group 02, and Group 03 launched on April 10, 2018 and January 29 and February 24, 2021.