BANGKOK — Soldiers in pristine and pressed uniforms marched in lockstep, their boots clacking a steady cadence on the pavement and their eyes following leader Xi Jinping as he drove by in review. Helicopters flew overhead, forming the numbers 8 and 0 in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
There was no shortage of pageantry at Wednesday’s military parade in Beijing, but beyond the spectacle, it also provided the first good look at China’s latest military hardware. New missiles, drones and other high-tech equipment have been added to its arsenal as part of a massive modernization program with the goal, according to the official parade announcers, of producing a force “with both nuclear and conventional capabilities able to deter wars in all battle spaces.”
Here are some of the highlights:
China’s nuclear arsenal still lags far behind that of the United States and Russia, but it has been rapidly expanding. In its annual report to Congress on China, the U.S. Department of Defense estimated that Beijing now has more than 600 warheads and will have more than 1,000 by 2030.
The parade featured many of the missiles capable of delivering those warheads, from air, sea and land. China’s official Xinhua News Agency said it was the first time the military’s “triad of strategic nuclear forces was presented in a concentrated fashion,” calling it “China’s strategic trump card for safeguarding national sovereignty and defending national dignity.”
The display of the three systems together is noteworthy, said Meia Nouwens, senior fellow for Chinese security and defense policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
“All of that, of course, goes back to this key point about deterrence and the messaging that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) and Xi Jinping are seeking to send to the U.S. and other partners and allies in the region and further afield,” she said.
Among the nuclear-capable missiles seen was the DF-61, a new intercontinental ballistic missile which can be fired from a mobile launching platform. Details on its capabilities are scant, but its predecessor has a range of more than 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) and can carry multiple warheads. It also debuted the newest variant of the silo-based DF-5, the DF-5C, whose range has been estimated at 20,000 kilometers.
Also featured were the JL-1 air-launched long-range missile and the JL-3 sea-launched missile, both of which are also nuclear-capable.
The parade saw the debut of other new missiles, including several designed to attack ships. These are likely of particular interest to the U.S., whose naval power is a key component of its Asia-Pacific defense strategy.
China claims the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as its own, and Xi has not ruled out taking the island by force. In the event of a Chinese invasion, if the U.S. were to come to Taiwan’s aid, China would need to hold off the U.S. Navy long enough to consolidate control of the island.
China has already built the world’s largest navy, though it is still well behind the U.S. in the number of aircraft carriers it has. It could use missiles, however, to try to keep American carriers out of effective range.
The parade showcased for the first time the YJ-15, YJ-17, YJ-19 and YJ-20 anti-ship missiles, all capable of operating at long ranges and hypersonic, making them difficult to intercept.
It also displayed missiles meant to intercept incoming anti-ship missiles, including the HQ-16C and HQ10A, and presented the aircraft-carrier version of the J-35 stealth multirole fighter for the first time.
“These are capabilities that are increasingly meant to signal to the United States they should think twice about entering into a conflict, if there ever is one, in support of Taiwan,” Nouwens said.
Seven types of reconnaissance and attack aerial drones were on display that were not immediately identified by official commentators, but some of which appeared to be new.
A small surface drone ship was also on display but not identified, as well as carrier-based uncrewed helicopters.
China also showed off two submarine drones, the older-model HSU001 and debuting the much larger AJX002. China’s official Xinhua News Agency called them “cutting-edge surprise weapons for naval combat” designed for “covert deployment and blockade, autonomous detection and identification, and swarm-networked attacks.”
“Long gone are the days where China was reliant on Russia or other foreign systems,” wrote Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army major general and analyst at the Lowy Institute, in a research note on the drones and other systems on display. “This level of indigenous capacity infers high levels of sustainability in any future conflict.”
Still, he cautioned, “newer does not always mean better.”
“While most Western military equipment has been tested in Iraq, Ukraine and elsewhere, none of China’s new kit has.”
