Chinese Army also known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a unified organization of China’s land, sea, and air forces. This is one of the largest military forces in the world. The PLA traces its roots to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising of the communists against the Nationalists. It was initially called the Red Army, it grew from 5,000 troops in 1929 to 2,00,000 troops in 1933. After World War II the communist forces renamed the People’s Liberation Army, defeated the Nationalists, making possible the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Now we will let you know about its military weapons, soldiers, marines and airforce.
1. China’s Military top weapons
a) Electromagnetic Railgun
Experts have informed Business insider that it seems that China is making progress, railguns are military useless compared with existing alternatives. Bryan Clark, a naval affairs expert, said, “This is a part of China’s strategic communication plan to show that it is a rising power with next-generation military capabilities.” China has suggested that the technology could be used to develop electromagnetic catapults for China’s future aircraft carriers.
b) “Chinese version of the Mother of All Bombs”
According to Chinese media, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited has developed a massive conventional weapon for China’s bombers known as the “Chinese version of the ‘Mother of All Bombs.'” The Global Times said this weapon is China’s largest non-nuclear bomb citing the state-run Xinhua News Agency. Although China is using the same nickname for its bomb, the Chinese weapon is smaller and lighter than its American counterpart, a 21,600-pound bomb that the US dropped on Islamic State targets in Afghanistan in 2017. This weapon would be carried by the Chinese Xi’an H-6K bombers.
c) ‘Career-killer’ missiles
The DF-26 ballistic missile is not a new weapon, but China presently launched, for the first time, video footage of a recent exercise involving the weapon, which is reportedly able to carry conventional and nuclear warheads for strikers against land and sea targets. This weapon is referred to as a “carrier-killer”. These missiles are also known as “Guam-killer” missiles because they are believed to be capable of ranging from US military installations in the Pacific. Adam Ni, a researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney informed the South China Morning Post, “a clear message to the US about China’s growing missile capability, and that it can hold at risk US strategic assets, such as carriers and bases.”
d) Super-soldiers armed with guns that shoot around corners
The Chinese media said that the Chinese military is arming its special forces with “sci-fi” weapons — “futuristic individual combat weapons like grenade-launching assault files, corner shot pistols and knife guns.” The Global Times said China was developing “super” soldiers who will be able to take 10 enemy combatant at one time. It also reported that the drone, which made an appearance at Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai last November, was shown taking off and landing at an undisclosed location. Chinese military experts said the US maintains an edge in this area, having developed the X-47B carrier-based drone, but both China and Russia are behind it to develop stealth drones for future missions.
e) Upgraded stealth fighter
The Global Times reported that China is considering the development of a twin-seat variant of the J-20 stealth fighter, which would be a first for fifth-generation aircraft. As per Chinese media, the aircraft would be capable of tactical bombing missions or electronic warfare, not just air superiority. Chinese media also said that China has also been looking at the possibility of creating a twin-seat variant of the carrier-based J-15s to expand the combat capability of the fighters, which are considered problematic and are expected to eventually be replaced. China’s Global Times said the advanced J-16 strike fighters now possess “near stealth capability”. Detection may be more of a challenge, but it is unlikely the aircraft could be considered stealthy.
f) Underground bunkers and intercontinental-ballistic-missile strikes
As per Global Times, Chinese troops have reportedly been conducting stimulated intercontinental-ballistic-missile (ICBM) strike exercises from underground bunkers. The Chinese media explained that nuclear-attack exercises, which are aimed at stimulated enemies, are designed to improve China’s counterattack capability in the event war breaks out. The strategic bunkers where the drills were staged are referred to as China’s “underground Great Wall” by Qian Qihu, the man who designed them.
2. China’s military soldiers
Military service is compulsory for all men who attain the age of 18; women may register for duty in the medical, veterinary, and other technical services. Demobilized servicemen are carried in a ready reserve, which is reinforced by a standby reserve of veterans and by the militia. The PLA is formally under the command of the Central Military Commission of the CCP; there is also an identical commission in the government, but it has no clear independent functions. The CCP commission is far more powerful than the Ministry of National Defence, which operates under the State Council, and it assures continuing CCP control over the armed forces. Troops around the country are stationed in seven military regions and more than 20 military districts. Though, the drive to modernize the PLA, limited military budgets and other constraints have harmed the sophistication of conventional military armaments and logistics and command-and-control systems to lag behind other major military powers.
3. China’s Marines
According to a report in Global Times, China’s most advanced lightweight tank, the Type 15, is no longer just deployed on plateau missions with the PLA Army, it is now being commissioned into the Navy-Marine Corps. The tank, which was independently developed, also excels at the amphibious landing and fast reaction tasks, making it very suitable for the Marine Corps. The China Central Television (CCTV) said that having participated in many key missions including multinational joint exercises, escorts tasks in the Gulf of Aden and the Yemen rescue mission, the Marine Corps brigade is transforming its amphibious-only role to an all-terrain role. the Type 15 is the latest entry to the PLA’s tank family and made its first public appearance at the National Day military parade in Beijing in October 2019. The Type 15 can launch guided missiles with a tandem warhead out to a range of five km [3.1 miles]. the gun is also fin-stabilized with a modern Fire Control System including a ballistic computer, laser rangefinder and thermal sights for the gunner. A Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times that a tank like Type 15 can work better than an amphibious tank when charging into deeper areas due to its higher mobility, Wei Dongxu. A 2020 assessment from GlobalFirepower estimates that the Chinese Army consists of roughly two million active-duty troops and 5,10,000 reserves, a number which is more than two-or-three times larger than the US Army’s standing active force. The assessment also says the Chinese have 33,000 armoured vehicles and 3,500 tanks.
4. China’s Air force
The air force of the People’s Republic of China is large but antiquated. There is little possibility of China’s air force emerging as a serious global offensive threat in the early 21st century, given current and expected political, economic and military conditions. The bulk of China’s air force fleet is obsolete. It has 4,000 fighters, 400 ground-attack aircraft and 120 bombers are based in the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1990s, China introduced some two dozen Russian-made Su-27 advanced tactical fighters into its air force.
