A period ago, on 3 September, a military parade was held in Beijing on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of defeating Japan in the Second planet War.
In mention to that event and the erstwhile article by Mr Leszek Ślazyk (who reported it “on an ongoing basis”), I will effort to present any of the most interesting weapons systems presented with a brief discussion to readers. Especially since the time needed to gather information about them and their own reflection.
In order to preserve the substantive order in the text, I decided to group the weapon systems against the types of troops for which they are intended. This is different than those systems were presented in Tian’anmen Square. Chinese defilade organizers presented them with functional groups (drones, rockets, armored wagons, aircraft). They did not have the chance to combine the flight of seaplanes with a demonstration of naval rocket systems and submarines. Present the tanks along with the helicopters of the ground troops, and yet “save” the audience with a view of anti-aircraft defence systems along with the flight of aircraft of the air force. This would lead to chaos and logistical and organisational problems. Unlike them, I have the comfort that the written text does not concern specified problems.
1. Navy
1. a) Marine ballistic rocket JL-3 (Julong-3)
It is simply a fresh generation rocket, with a atomic MIRV-type atomic warhead (multiple independent targetable reagent vehicle), which can carry multiple atomic charges. It has a solid fuel rocket engine, and its scope is estimated at 12,000 kilometres. It is intended for usage with strategical submarines kind 094. It is part of a Chinese atomic triad.
Strategic submarine with atomic propulsion kind 094. Rocket carrier JL-3. China now has 8 specified ships that can swim at a depth of up to 400 metres. Behind the ship are JL-3 rocket silos (two rows, six launchers each).
1. (b) Marine hypersonic rocket
During the defilade, many missiles were presented for usage with vertical launchers of fresh Chinese warships: destroyers types 055 and 052D. Among them were the YJ-17 and YJ-19 missiles. These are water-water (anti-ship) class rockets and most likely besides optionally water-ground (against land targets).
YJ-17 is simply a ballistic rocket with an interesting-looking hypersonic glider.
In turn, the YJ-19 rocket is powered by a stream engine. During flight to mark velocity 5 Mach can execute evasive (i.e. maneuver) to confuse anti-aircraft defence systems.
In the image below, a Chinese kind 055 destroyer. On its deck (the beak and midship) are visible covers of vertical, universal rocket launchers whose ship has 112 pieces:
Graphics with installation of vertical ship launchers with fresh missiles (YJ-17 3rd from left, YJ-19 first from right):
1. (c) Unmanned AJX002 submarine
It resembles the form and size of the Russian Poseidon, an autonomous torpedo with a long duration of operation which is powered by atomic power and armed with a atomic warhead. It is unknown whether a Chinese vehicle has atomic propulsion or a more conventional battery. However, it seems that like a Russian torpedo it has the same destiny (i.e. combating groups of ships) and can be armed with a tactical atomic warhead. As the Chinese claim, an autonomous vehicle supports artificial intelligence algorithms.
1. (d) all informing Plane KJ-600
Chinese ‘mini’ AWACS created specifically for the aircraft group of the fresh Fujian aircraft carrier. It is unique, for example, due to the fact that it makes China the second country in the planet to produce AWACS-class ship-based aircraft. The American equivalent of the Chinese device is well known to E-2 aviation enthusiasts Hawkeye.
2. Land troops
2. (a) kind 100 tank
The fresh light tank model, presented as kind 100, was interesting. It's not even about its futuristic shapes, it's about equipment, weapons and crew. It is most likely the world's first three-man tank, with only 1 associate taking a position in its tower. It is simply a gungun, or mark cannon. The driver and the commander are sitting next to each another in the machine's hull. There's no loader, which is replaced by a cannon loader. There are besides voices among armored weapons experts that the full tank crew is in its hull (in a peculiar pod), while the tower is unmanned.
The tank has many different sensors, the most crucial of which is the APS Active Protection System, providing protection against incoming grenades, anti-tank missiles and drones.
The weight of the device is estimated by experts at about 40 tonnes. The tank's propulsion is simply a 1,500 horse hybrid engine.
The cannon caliber is 105 mm. It would seem that this is comparatively small these days. However, as the Chinese say, this is simply a modern design, utilizing cartridges manufactured in the fresh technology (Phase III). As a result, the cannon is able to launch subcalibre anti-tank missiles at an first velocity of 1,700 metres per second. This means that they have a advanced kinetic energy capable of penetrating the armor of the latest western combat vehicles.
The driver and commander usage peculiar helmets with displays. The commander can control the module remotely with a device weapon on the tower with head movements. In turn, the driver on his own display has a preview of the cameras mounted around the machine. The tank has a "Hunter-Killer" strategy where the commander, through his own optoelectronic instruments (in the already mentioned distant weapon module on the tower), not only watches the battlefield, but besides searches for and indicates targets to destruct the cannon.
New kind of helmet with display:
Active GL6 shield strategy installed on kind 100 tank tower:
2. (b) Anti-drone laser systems
During the defilades, ground troops showed as many as 3 mobile laser systems to fight drones, especially their swarms. The most common of them was LY-1, a laser of advanced power (most most likely from 100 to 150 kilowatts):
This kind of laser is not only mounted on peculiar trucks with power generating units, but besides on large ships (such as Chinese kind 071). Shipbuildings have an excess mechanical power that can be converted to electrical current.
LY-1 laser head approximation:
Another laser strategy was OW5-A50 with a power of 50 kW. As you can see in the image below, it has the form of a container (with a laser head on the roof), and was mounted on a four-axis military truck.
In turn, the smallest of the anti-drone laser systems active in the parade was OW5-A10. It is simply a 10 kW system, placed on a military field vehicle Mengshi III. The lower laser power compensates for the tiny dimensions of the strategy and the advanced field courage of its carrier.
3. Rocket troops
3. (a) DF-26D strategy (Dongfeng-26D)
Although many different systems utilized by Chinese rocket troops were presented during the defilade, including the latest intercontinental DF-61 rockets with atomic warheads, in my opinion, the number 1 of specified Chinese troops is the DF-26 strategy (shown this time by the audience in variant D).
It is simply a multi-purpose medium-range ballistic missile, or alleged IRBM, which is referred to as the "Guam Killer" or "Guam Express" by the Chinese. This refers to an American island in the Pacific (in the Marian archipelago), on which is simply a large U.S. Air Force base: Andersen. This base is home to American strategical bombers B-2 Spirit.
DF-26 is simply a MaRV-class rocket (Maneuvering Reentry Vehicle) that performs maneuvers while flying to target, and this makes it hard to shoot down even by the latest anti-aircraft systems, specified as Patriot PAC-3. It may be armed with a conventional warhead, or a atomic warhead.
In addition to attacks on land targets, it is besides suitable for striking groups of enemy ships at sea, e.g. aircraft carriers with escorts. The Americans estimation that Chinese rocket troops have about 250 DF-26 and 500 rocket launchers. However, the British (from renowned Janes Information Services) consider these estimates to be importantly understated.
The standard DF-26 rocket is powered by solid fuel and has a scope of about 4000 km. In the D variant presented, it can be up to 5500 km.
The following graphic shows the scope of the Chinese IRBM-class systems, including DF-26:
4. Air Force
4. (a) strategy HQ-29 (Hongqi-29)
The HQ-29 strategy is the fresh long-range anti-aircraft defence system. It was designed as an anti-Balistic (ABM) and anti-satellite (ASAT) "interceptor". It is capable of destroying ballistic missiles in their mid-flight phase and satellites located in low Earth orbit. By Western journalists baptized as “Satellite Hunter”, it is (de facto) equivalent to the American RIM-161 Standard rocket 3 rocket produced by Raytheon. Participation in the parade was his official, public debut.
4. (b) Xi’an Y-20B transport aircraft
True, the Y-20 is simply a reasonably well-known 100-ton transport device (used by Chinese Air Force since 2016), but in the Y-20B variant it was presented for the first time. This version of the aircraft is characterized primarily by fresh engines of Chinese production of WS-20. They have a larger (approximately 10%) string compared to the existing D-30KP2 engines (Soviet design) and lower fuel consumption. Externally, WS-20 engines are distinguished by a large diameter, resembling them to western design.
4. (c) Unmanned flying apparatus
During the parade many drones of different types could be seen: riding, floating or even walking, but by far the most many were flying drones. The biggest interest among them, of course, sparked the machinery intended for Chinese air force (and optionally besides the air naval component):
As you can see in the above photo, they were presented on specially adapted military platforms/lawets. All of them were interesting, but 2 of them peculiarly attracted attention: large "Loyal Wingman" drones designed in stealth technology (i.e. reduced radar detection).
The concept of "Loyal Wingman" (which can be translated from English as: a faithful winger) was developed by Americans. It is that air operations are carried out by mixed teams of manned and unmanned aircraft. Unmanned aircraft (acting in close cooperation with manned machines) execute high-risk combat tasks, which increases the chances of endurance of manned machines and their pilots. A manned aircraft plays the function of ‘brain’ in specified a squad and an unmanned ‘arm’.
Shortly after the defilade was completed, OSINT (open-source intelligence, white intelligence) began to analyse both large drones, focusing on their size, weight, method details and destiny. Since the Chinese did not uncover the names of both machines, it was decided to call them drones Type A (Narrow, with Lambda wings) and Type B (wider, with trapezoid wings).
They were determined to be 15-16 metres long and a weight of 6-7 tonnes (Type A lighter, kind B heavier). And a kind A drone is expected to be a hunting machine, and a kind B drone is expected to be a multitasking.
The drive of both drones is the WS-10C engine, known for example from the early versions of the J-20 fighter.
Both drones are saturated with different sensors and have radio lockers. The kind B drone besides has an electrooptic targeting strategy (so-called EOTS) placed under its bow. Both machines besides have an inside of the weapon chamber that can accommodate various types of bombs and air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground. The markings on the machines indicate they belong to the 53rd Air Force.
On the basis of the above, it can be concluded that both machines are groundbreaking and represent a major step forward in the improvement of combat aviation. To prove this to the reader of this text, let me compare the method data of the kind A drone, with the well-known and popular F-16 fighter, due to the fact that the numbers themselves (without a mention point) will not tell besides many people who are not curious in aviation topics all day. Nevertheless, each of us knows the F-16 aircraft, which is now the primary combat device of Polish and American air forces. It is widely regarded as a very good and efficient flying aircraft. It is besides crucial to compare that the F-16 is the same dimension (15 metres) as the kind A drone.
Type A drone:
F-16 fighter in colours of Polish air force:
The weight of the F-16 aircraft is about 8,5 tons and the maximum engine power (F100) is: 129kN (kiloniumtons). If you take 6 tonnes as the mass of your kind A drone and the maximum engine power of WS-10C: 130kN, you can see that it has an advantage over F-16 in 1 of the most crucial aviation parameters, which is the ratio of the weight of the aircraft to the engine thrust force. This determines the rate of climb of the device to the altitude and its maximum flight ceiling. Both of these parameters of the kind A drone will have better than the American fighter. In addition, the pure aerodynamic line of the drone (no vertical ballast and protruding cockpit cover) will make it fly very quickly. Due to the deficiency of pilot, it will not be delicate to overload, and stealth technology will warrant it difficult-to-detect.
When writing about the drone, it is impossible not to mention the plane that will manage it in the air (it will be his ‘brain’). The Chinese decided to prepare a device dedicated to this task. It's a fresh variant of the J-20 air force fighter. It has the J-20S designation, and unlike the standard J-20, it is distinguished by the two-man crew: the pilot and the cockpit-based arms/drone operator "Loyal Wingman".
The J-20S aircraft besides participated in the Beijing airlift:
According to Chinese sources, the drone operator "Loyal Wingman" (in the J-20S cockpit) will be supported in the management process by artificial intelligence algorithms.
Artistic imagination of the J-20S fighter aircraft and associated drones (pictured by Hongdu GJ-11 impact drones).
In fact, it will look a small different than on the above graphics: Formations of kind A drones will fly at any distance in front of J-20S device keys. They will be the first to fight the enemy's planes, and even if they do not defeat them, they will bring chaos into its formation – they will break its combat formation. Thus, Chinese manned machines (like J-20S) will have a facilitated task in the air conflict with a disorganized opponent.
At this point, we should besides look at what the improvement of "Loyal Wingman" drones in Western countries is now like. The most advanced construction is the Boeing: MQ-28 Ghost Bat.
It is simply a 12 metres long drone, with its own weight of 1.5 tons and a thrust of about 15 kN. True, it is made in stealth technology, but due to the deficiency of an interior chamber for weapons, it will be forced to carry it on suspension nodes under wings. This will adversely affect its difficult-detectability and reduce performance, which are not awesome anyway (e.g. its maximum flight velocity is well below sound speed, or 1 Mach).
In addition, Americans did not foretell a dedicated aircraft to coordinate specified drones in the air. Consequently, MQ-28 will be managed by a manned device pilot alternatively than a peculiar operator. This will be served by the tablet in the cockpit of the manned device (e.g. F-35, F-22). This is an unfortunate solution, that will negatively affect the concentration of the pilot, who will not only gotta pilot his own device and be aware of the tactical situation in the air, it is inactive manage/manage the drone.
Clearly, the “Loyal Wingman” drones developed in the West are not presently competing for Chinese machines. Military aviation experts estimated that in this peculiar area China had overtaken the West by about a decade. This is commendable, especially since it is not the Chinese who are the creators of the Loyal Wingman concept, and yet their engineers have done a large occupation in implementing it.
SUMMARY:
The Beijing military defilement showed that China is presently developing very rapidly not only economically and infrastructure (airports, road networks, high-speed railways, ports and skyscrapers), but besides the same extremist changes take place in the Chinese army.
The presented weapons systems do not give way to Western structures, and in many cases they simply overtake them. In addition, it should be borne in head that, with the current production capacity of the Chinese arms industry, their own troops are saturated with them very quickly.
Meanwhile, in western countries, analogous processes are "slimming". The Chinese Army (Chinese People's Liberation Army) present has more than 2 million soldiers, with the ability to rapidly replenish the individual states to 3 million. With modern equipment with large combat capabilities, it will be an army undefeated in the eventual Asian theatre of war activities.
Written by Grzegorz Hnatyk
email: [email protected]
Editorial: Leszek B.
Email: [email protected]
Note:
All photographs and graphics utilized in the following text are from: Chinese Internet, Weibo, Sino Defence Forum, twitter user profiles: @Rupprecht_A, DS北风, Húrin.
In the case of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone and F-16 aircraft, the photos were taken from Wikipedia.
![Homar-K trafił cel z odległości 78,6 km podczas ćwiczeń Baltic Shield 26 [+VIDEO]](https://kresy.pl/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Homar-K-zr.-MON.jpg)
![Xi-Trump: szczyt asertywnych mocarstw globalnych [KOMENTARZ]](https://cdn.defence24.pl/2026/05/14/1200xpx/0xTkAEP1fOgENnmQ5ZdDtCWses2vlgMgmwYeJKOA.mzje.jpg)
