Thousands of troops, tanks and armored vehicles, cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, combat drones of every type and size, together with fifth-generation fighters, transport and support aircraft that flew over the skies of Beijing, were just some of the images left by the imposing military parade carried out by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, where the People’s Republic of China showcased to the world its growing military strength.
The military parade, held in front of the steps of Tiananmen Square, was headed by President Xi Jinping, accompanied as guests of honor by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who, flanking the Chinese leader, were privileged witnesses, along with representatives from various countries of the world, of the official ceremony and the military parade.
In his speech, prior to the start of the parade of troops and assets from all branches of the People’s Liberation Army, Xi Jinping highlighted: “The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable and the cause of peace and development of humanity will prevail,” while also stressing, in a tone of concern and warning to the world, that: “Humanity is once again facing a choice between peace and war, dialogue or confrontation, and outcomes where all win or zero-sum games,” in a clear message to the United States and rival powers seeking to contain China’s expansion on the world stage and, in particular, in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nevertheless, beyond the speeches and their addressees, the Victory Day celebrations —in which China commemorates the Japanese surrender in World War II, putting an end to decades of colonial occupation of the country and extermination of its population by Japan— were the stage chosen by Beijing to unveil to the world several of its most advanced missile, combat aircraft, transport and support systems, as well as new tanks and armored combat and transport vehicles, in addition to specialized electronic warfare systems. The increasingly greater presence in Chinese military forces of aerial, land, surface and underwater combat drones was also noteworthy.
Just to make a brief review, during the parade held hours ago the presence stood out of an entirely new common platform of armored vehicles, which can be specialized to carry out troop transport, combat vehicle and infantry support tasks.
Here one could observe, leading the armored formation, the most powerful MBT tank in service with the PLA Ground Force, the Type 99B, accompanied by an entirely new generation of armored combat vehicles. Among these stood out, as had been captured during parade rehearsals in previous days, the Type 100 (previously designated “ZTZ-201”).
This new light tank, around 40 tons, seems to be the spearhead for the adoption of a platform of armored vehicles for infantry transport and combat, including for paratrooper operations, also standing out the presence of one of them powered by a hybrid-electric propulsion system.
New cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile capabilities
One of the most prominent aspects of the parade was the display of the nuclear triad of the People’s Republic of China, based on the deployment of ballistic missiles of different range and payload capacity to be launched from air platforms such as bombers, ballistic submarines, and from silos or land-based launchers.
In this regard, transported by their launch vehicles and trucks, the submarine-launched ballistic missiles JL-1 and JL-3 were displayed before the authorities and the public located in Tiananmen Square, employed by the modern Type 094 nuclear-powered submarines of the PLA Navy.
For their part, in the area of land-launched missiles from mobile platforms, such as silos, the DF-31BJ made its appearance. Nevertheless, as was reported days ago, the main attention of specialists focused on the DF-61, which would be the most modern of this type of missile developed and introduced into the PLA Rocket Force.
The other focus of attention, due to its main employment hypothesis against island installations in the Pacific and against aircraft carriers of rival powers, was the presence of hypersonic missiles, where China has become one of the world’s leading references. Also appearing were the series of YJ-21, DF-17 and DF-26D missiles, which vary in their launch platforms: the first can be launched from H-6K strategic bombers of the PLAAF, while the other two can be launched from land-based coastal defense platforms.
Aerial parade of the Air Force and Naval Aviation of the PLA Navy
At the conclusion of the land parade, the skies over Tiananmen were crossed by some of the most modern combat and support aircraft being introduced into the ranks of the PLAAF and PLAN. It is enough to mention the segment of fifth-generation aircraft, where one of the new twin-seat stealth fighters J-20S led a formation of J-20s, while in another formation the new Shenyang J-35s flew over the Chinese capital.
It should also be noted that the Victory Day parade represented the preview of what will be the future Carrier Air Groups of the aircraft carrier Fujian, and its successors, of the Chinese Navy, where the new versions of the J-15 formed part of the formation flights, among which stood out the first official presence of the new KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft. At the same time, it should be mentioned that the new J-35 of the PLAAF will also have a carrier-based version to operate from aircraft carriers.
Other systems that deserve attention:
The quantity of assets deployed makes one lose track of other systems observed, such as the HQ-29 ballistic missile defense system, which would have capabilities similar to the U.S. THAAD; the LY-1 laser air defense system, displayed on trucks but forming part of the future point air defense of PLAN frigates and destroyers.
Also visible were various land vehicles for support in electronic warfare tasks across all its spectrums, as well as those specialized in countering combat drones.
In this last section the PLA is also incorporating an entire series of new unmanned combat platforms that were also exhibited during the parade, such as collaborative combat drones, emulating the “Loyal Wingman” concept.
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