????SANYA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese navy on Tuesday conducted a live firing drill in the South China Sea to improve its maritime combat ability.

????The exercise involves more than 100 naval vessels,dozens of aircrafts, several missile launch battalions of the Second Artillery Corps, as well as unknown number of information warfare troops, navy sources said.

????Dozens of missiles and torpedoes and thousands of shells and jamming bombs were fired during the exercise.

????The drill tested the navy's air defense and early warning system and improved its ability to react quickly, the sources said.