PLA orbat update, Southern Theater Command (74th and 75th GA)

 

41st Group Army	74th Group Army	1st Combined-Arms Brigade
		16th Combined-Arms Brigade
		125th Combined-Arms Brigade
		132nd Combined-Arms Brigade
		154th Combined-Arms Brigade
		163th Combined-Arms Brigade
		74th Air-Defense Brigade
		74th Artillery Brigade
		74th Special Ops Brigade
		74th Joint Logistics Support Brigade
		74th Engineering Brigade
42nd Group Army	75th Group Army	31st Combined-Arms Brigade
		32nd Combined-Arms Brigade
		37th Combined-Arms Brigade
		42nd Combined-Arms Brigade
		122th Combined-Arms Brigade
		123rd Combined-Arms Brigade
		121st Air-Assault Brigade
		75th Air-Defense Brigade
		75th Artillery Brigade
		75th Special Ops Brigade
		75th Joint Logistics Support Brigade
		75th Engineering Brigade

 

 

 Thursday, July 27, 2017

PLA orbat update, ex31st Group Army / 73rd Group Army

Again, credit goes to Andrew KC, both photos and updates.

31st Group Army	73rd Group Army	3rd Combined-Arms Brigade
		14th Combined-Arms Brigade
		86th Combined-Arms Brigade
		91st Combined-Arms Brigade
		92nd Combined-Arms Brigade
		73rd Special Ops Brigade
		73rd Air-Defense Brigade
		73rd Artillery Brigade

The 86th Motorized Division of the former 31st GA has been re-organized into two brigades.  One of the brigades here is the 86th Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第86旅) of the 73rd GA, and most of its assets came from the armored regiment of the former 86th Division.   So far the Armored Infantry Battalion's ZBD04's from the former 91st Motorized Division have been consolidated into this new brigade.

 The new 86th Combined-Arms Brigade on the move

 The former 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade of the former 1st GA is now subordinate to the newly formed 73rd GA.  It is now called the 3rd Combined Arms Brigade (合成第3旅).

The 91st Motorized Infantry Division of the former 31st GA is now the 91st Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第91旅) of the 73rd GA.  The unit is taking on amphibious role with hand-me-down Type 63A amphibious light tanks.  91st's four Combined-Arms Battalions (合成1,2,3,4营) are equipped with  2 companies of Type 63A each.

 91st Combined-Arms Brigade

 91st Combined-Arms Brigade

14th Combined-Arms Brigade 合成第14旅 was the 14th Amphibious Armored Brigade, 31GA, Nanjing MR at Zhangzhou

 14th Amphibious Armored Brigade

The AD Brigade of the former 31st GA is now the 73rd Air-Defense Brigade (防空第73旅) of the 73rd GA

 HQ-16 SAM

 The Artillery Brigade of the former 31st GA is now the 73rd Artillery Brigade (炮兵第73旅) of the 73rd GA.

73rd Artillery Brigade's two AFT-09 long-range ATGM battalions. 

Saturday, July 01, 2017

PLA orbat update (July 1st 2017)

Special Thanks to Andrew KC for the update.

- The 127th Division of the former 54th GA has been split up into 2 brigades.  One of them is the 127th Combined-Arms Brigade and is based upon the old 379th Mechanized Regiment.

-  The former 132nd Motorized Infantry Brigade, Hainan MD, Guangzhou MR is now the 132nd Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第132旅) of the 74th GA

 - The 188th Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the former 27th GA is now the 188th Combined Arms Brigade (合成第188旅) of the 82nd GA.

PLA orbat update (71st, 72nd and 73rd Group Armies)

Theater Command		Old Designation	New Designation	Line Units
Eastern TC		12th Group Army	71st Group Army	2nd Combined-Arms Brigade
				35th Combined-Arms Brigade
				160th Combined-Arms Brigade
				178th Combined-Arms Brigade
				179th Combined-Arms Brigade
				235th Combined-Arms Brigade
		1st Group Army	72nd Group Army	5th Combined-Arms Brigade
				10th Combined-Arms Brigade
				34th Combined-Arms Brigade
				85th Combined-Arms Brigade
				90th Combined-Arms Brigade
				124th Combined-Arms Brigade
		31st Group Army	73rd Group Army	3rd Combined-Arms Brigade
				14th Combined-Arms Brigade
				86th Combined-Arms Brigade
				91st Combined-Arms Brigade
				92nd Combined-Arms Brigade
				73rd Special Ops Brigade
Southern TC		41st Group Army	74th Group Army
		42nd Group Army	75th Group Army
		14th Group Army	Decommissioned
Western TC		21st Group Army	76th Group Army
		13rd Group Army	77th Group Army
		47th Group Army	Decommissioned
Northern TC		16th Group Army	78th Group Army
		39th Group Army	79th Group Army
		26th Group Army	80th Group Army
		40th Group Army	Decommissioned
Central TC		65th Group Army	81st Group Army
		38th Group Army	82nd Group Army
		54th Group Army	83rd Group Army
		20th Group Army	Decommissioned
		27th Group Army	Decommissioned

China’s first homemade aircraft carrier to enter mooring trials next month

http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-08/04/content_7705187.htm

Source
    People's Daily Online
Editor
    Ouyang

Time
    2017-08-04

China’s first homemade aircraft carrier will likely enter mooring trials next month ahead of schedule, said Hu Wenming, general director of construction of the aircraft carrier, CCTV.com reported on Aug. 3.

Hu introduced that construction of China’s second aircraft carrier, also the country’s first homemade one, is going well after it hit the water in Dalian on April 26 this year. Hu added that the carrier will likely start mooring trials next month ahead of schedule to test if its equipment is able to meet the requirements for further sea trial.

China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has been delivered to the Chinese Navy for training and research. China’s second carrier will be based on the Liaoning and will be among the world’s most advanced, further improving China’s research and development of aircraft carriers, according to the director.

Hu also disclosed that a total of 412 state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and scientific research institutions in China have contributed to its development, occupying 77.4 percent of the total, which indicates that its construction is the result of national collective efforts.

In addition, through construction of the carrier, China has possessed a talent team at an average age of 36 and gained the ability to independently research and develop, design, and manage an aircraft carrier project, which has laid a foundation for the country to build better ones in the future, the director noted.

Photos of the day: Home is where LCAC is

Saturday, April 01, 2017

Photos of the day: Six known Type 726 Yuyi class landing craft, air cushion (LCAC) of the PLAN

Per request and thanks to Andrew KC for his collection (3320,3321, 3322, 3330, 3331 and 3332)

3320

 3322

 3321

 3330

 3331

3332

Chinese IFV in Djibouti

Judging from this set of open ceremony photos, the first batch of PLAN Marine stationing at Djibouti is supported by at least 6x ZBL-08 30mm IFV and 4x Dongfeng Warrior 4×4 light IFV with 12.7mm HMG

DJIBOUTI, Aug.1 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony marking the entry of troops into the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) support base in Djibouti was held on Tuesday in the base's barracks.
The ceremony marked the first time that China has opened a military support base overseas. It will fulfill China's international obligations regarding humanitarianism aid and escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

A Chinese national flag ceremony and a military parade were held in the barracks.
The PLA support base in Djibouti was established on July 11 based on a decision by both China and Djibouti and will be conducive to China fulfilling its international committments.

Monday, March 06, 2017

"We will have a bigger Navy and Marine Corps" Admiral Liu Xiaojiang

Speaking at the current National People’s Congress session on Sunday,  Admiral Liu Xiaojiang. the former Political Commissar of the PLAN stressed that the PLAN will play an increasingly important role in national defense - for the readers of this blog - with additional Army transfers to the PLAN Marine's Order of battle (中国海军上将证实：海军人员编制舰艇规模将扩大)  .

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Long expected, the third PLAN Marine Brigade is now here.

The commission of the third PLAN Marine Brigade should come as no surprise since "with great power comes great Marines".  The current two-Marine Brigade ORBAT simply does not have the manpower to fulfill all those new "historical missions" the PLA high command has planned for them.  The question is really about which PLA ground unit will be transferred to the navy and how soon.

The first PLAN Marine Brigade commissioned on May 1980.  164th Motorized Infantry Division, 41st Army Group Army transferred to the Chinese Marine Corps as the 164th Marine Brigade on July 1998.  This new Marine Brigade is another army transfer, this time from the 77th "Yimeng/沂蒙" Motorized Infantry Brigade, 26th Group Army, Jinan MR/ Northern Theater Command.

The 77th is a proud PLA outfit, commissioned by the CMC on December 1945 and participated in some of the major campaigns during the Chinese Civil War (The Battle of Luannan, the Battle of Laiwu, the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Kaifeng, the Battle of Huaihai, the Battle of the Yangtze River, and the Battle of Shanghai).  It also took part in the Second, Fourth, and Fifth campaigns of the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea".

Yimeng Brigade's unit sleeve insignia can be seen from the picture above  

Saturday, January 14, 2017

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tank to the PLAN Marine??

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tanks sporting the now-famous "Blue Smurf" camo were spotted in Sanya City, near the HQ of the PLAN Marine.  Rumor has it that they are now getting those wheeled new toys to increase their mobility for MOOTW and non-amphibious operations.  Time will tell.