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
				163th Combined-Arms 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

PLA Orbat reform update (Jun 2017)

The "Great PLA Orbat Reform" of the 2017 is still on-going, here is what we know thus far.   Please note that some units are being merged together in a two-to-one fashion, others are shifted to a different Group Army HQ altogether.

Credit goes to Andrew KC.


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Old	New
115th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region	115th Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第115旅), 78th Group Army, Northern Theater Command
200th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 26th Group Army, Jinan Military Region	200th Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第200旅), 79th Group Army. Central Theater Command
3rd Armored Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region 202nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shangyang Military Region (a two-to-one merger)	202nd Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第202旅), 78th Group Army, Northern Theater Command
203rd Infantry Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region	203rd Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第203旅), 80th Group Army, Northern Theater Command
4th Armored Brigade, 16th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region 204th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 16th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region (a two-to-one merger)	204th Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第204旅), 78th GA, Northern Theater Command
115th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region	115th Combined-Arms Brigade (合成第115旅), 78th Group Army, Northern Theater Command
7th Artillery Brigade, 39th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region	79th Artillery Brigade (炮兵第79旅), 79th Group Army, Theater Command
18th Armored Brigade, 14th Group Army, Chengdu Military Region	18th Combined Arms Brigade (合成第18旅), 75th Group Army, Southern Theater Command
SpOp Brigade, 16th Group Army, Shanyang Military Region	78th Special Combat Brigade (特种作战第78旅), 78th Group Army, Northern Theater Command
34th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 12th Group Army, Nanjing Military Region	34th Combined Arms Brigade (合成第34旅), 72nd Group Army, Eastern Theater Command
3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade, 1st Group Army, Nanjing Military Region	3rd Combined Arms Brigade (合成第3旅), 73rd Group Army, Eastern Theater Command
112th Mechanized Infantry Division, 38th Group Army, Beijing Military Region	112th Mechanized Infantry Division, a strategic unit organic to Central Theater Command
116th Mechanized Infantry Division, 39th Group Army, Shangyang Military Region	116th Mechanized Infantry Division, a strategic unit organic to Northern Theater Command

Thursday, May 18, 2017

PLA's new Group Army Orbat

Thanks Forbin for putting this together for us.

Theater Command		Old Designation	New Designation
Eastern TC		12th Group Army	71st Group Army
		1st Group Army	72nd Group Army
		31st Group Army	73rd Group Army
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

Friday, April 28, 2017

The Group Army is dead, long live the Group Army!

The PLA reform takes another giant step this week -- the surviving Group Armies will be re-organized into 13 larger and more powerful outfits, their number would range from 71st to 83rd (Here).  Yup, the lineage of all those well-known GAs, such as the 42nd, 38th, 39th, 1st, and 13th, are now at an end, not with a bang but a whimper

China to regroup PLA Army

Source
    Xinhua
Editor
    Zhang Tao
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-04/27/content_7580712.htm

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The Central Military Commission has decided to reorganize the Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun said Thursday.

Yang said that 13 army groups will be formed from the previous 18.

The move is a crucial step to build a strong and modernized new-type army and is important to shifting the focus of the PLA from quantity to quality and efficiency, he said.

In response to a question on reform of military academies and research institutions, Yang said that the reform aims to adapt to the new command system and military structure, as well as to provide talent and theoretical and technological support to the building of a first-class military force.

The reform is now underway, he added.

PLA group armies to get greater role
SourceGlobal Times
EditorYao JianingT
ime2017-04-25

Air force, navy, Rocket Forces to be included in group armies: expert

A largely overlooked official report has uncovered the latest changes in China's group armies, which suggests the groups will consist of different corps in the future, experts said.

The 76th Group Army is the newest designation of China's group armies made public after China announced a military reshuffle with 84 newly adjusted or established corps-level units, news site caixin.com reported.

A notice released by the government of Gaotai county, Northwest China's Gansu Province on April 18 said Wang Kai, vice chief-of-staff of the Western Theater Command of People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Cao Junzhang, the vice commander of PLA's 76th Group Army, visited a local Red Army museum.

Both Wang and Cao are from the 13th Group army which used to be part of the former Chengdu Military Region, caixin.com reported.

"The change in designation is significant. In the past, armies only included the PLA army, but in the future, the air force, navy and Rocket Forces will also be included in the group armies and given a new designation," Song Zhongping, a military expert who served in the Second Artillery Corps (now known as the PLA Rocket Force), told the Global Times on Monday.

The previous designation, which only belonged to the army, is not suitable for the new group army, and the new group armies will be considered a big unit command during war, Song said.

This will fundamentally change the structure of China's military, according to Song.

The group armies are the main part of the PLA, and its structure, duty and combat capabilities will be changed significantly after this reform, but the reform takes time, and the change in designation is just the first step, Song elaborated.

The reform is not limited to the PLA Army. An anonymous PLA Navy officer told the Global Times that the 1st Group Army's 1st Division will be commissioned in the PLA Navy's Marine Corps, and this division will be in charge of offensives after Marine landing operations.

The Global Times has received no official confirmation of this information.

http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-04/25/content_7575815.htm

Friday, March 31, 2017

40th Group Army, decommissioned.

It has been confirmed that the HQ of the 40th Group Army (GA) is now history. Its organic units with high readiness rate and newer TOE will likely be merged with neighboring GAs.  Such as the 118th Combined Arms 8x8 Light Mechanized Infantry Brigade will likely to be part of the 39th GA moving forward.. Others units such as 119th and 191st Motorized Infantry Brigades with their older TOE will will probably be disbanded all together.

According to South China Morning Post,  the 14th, 16th, 20th, 47th, and 27th HQs will be decommissioned next.

Thanks Andrew KC and  Forbin for the confirmation.

Graphic credit goes to South China Morning Post

PLAN Commission of the day: The 24th Type 054A FFG " Xuchang" FFG536

Photos of the day: Fancy formation flying

Not sure who the PLAAF is trying to impress here but they just did a fancy formation flying with five J-20, seven J-11 and a bunch AWACs.  

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Photos of the day: PLAAF 126th Air Brigade's in-service J-20A, serial numbers 78271 and 78274

PLAN launch of the day: The fifth Type 071 YUZHAO Class Amphibious Transport Dock LPD at HDZH

Where is the PLAN?

Currently there are 12 PLAN surface ships dispatching abroad from their home bases (2 DDG, 6 FFG and 4 tankers). 

Chinese naval escort taskforce visits New Zealand
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-06/16/content_7642495.htm

Chinese naval fleet visits Iran
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-06/16/content_7642344.htm

Chinese naval fleet visits Pakistan
http://www.china.org.cn/world/2017-06/11/content_41005515.htm

And of course, Gulf of Aden.  

Monday, January 03, 2011

it's not just a job it's an adventure

Want to join the PLA Navy? To see the world, perhaps fight off a pirate or two around the Gulf of Aden? Be careful what you wish for you might end up defending Fairy Bay (神仙湾) in Xinjiang, the highest PLAN outpost, 5100 meters above sea level (here).

Sr Col 赵兴德 Zhao XingDe, commander of the Naval Boarder Defense Regiment.

Professional PLA article of the day: Waiting in the Wings: PLAAF General Yi Xiaoguang

Another good read from Kenneth Allen and Jana Allen.  This article will surely shed some light on the recent PLA/PLAAF re-org, especially on how they would put together a “strategic air force”. 


To read the article in its entirety, please visit James Town Foundation (here)

Waiting in the Wings: PLAAF General Yi Xiaoguang

By: Kenneth Allen, Jana Allen

June 9, 2017 09:39 AM Age: 1 day
General Yi Xiaoguang (乙晓光) is an experienced pilot and strategic thinker in the Chinese Air Force who is likely to be tapped as its next Commander

Central Military Commission (CMC) Member and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) Commander, General Ma Xiaotian (马晓天), will reach his mandatory retirement age later this year and will likely retire in conjunction with the 19th Party Congress. While much of the PLA’s promotion process remains opaque, transition of the top PLAAF leadership may be becoming more predictable. Ma’s most likely successor is General Yi Xiaoguang (乙晓光), who currently serves as a Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff (formerly General Staff) Department. If appointed, Yi would become the 12th Commander of the PLAAF since it was created in November 1949. If recent precedent is followed, he would likely also receive a grade promotion from Theater Command Leader to CMC Member and serve concurrently as the Deputy Secretary of the PLAAF’s Party Standing Committee. [1]

A review of his background and career progression in comparison with previous PLAAF commanders strongly suggests that Yi is the most logical successor to Ma. Yi has extensive operational and leadership experience and professional military education. He has rapidly risen in grade and rank since 2001 and since 2014 has held key positions that qualify him to serve at the next higher grade. Since 2012, he has also been an alternate member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 18th Party Congress. Additionally, it has already been established that top PLAAF leadership are expected to represent the service to foreign counterparts. [2] Yi is well prepared to fill this role. He is a strategic thinker who has published on a range of technology-related issues, and in contrast with most of his peers, he has broad experience representing the PLAAF overseas as well as hosting foreign military delegations in China. While his career has followed a similar trajectory to other top PLAAF leaders, Yi is representative of the generational and educational change that is occurring within the PLAAF and being pushed to help build a “strategic air force”.

General Yi Xiaoguang (乙晓光) is an experienced pilot and strategic thinker in the Chinese Air Force who is likely to be tapped as its next Commander

The customer is Sudan, by the way

China's FTC-2000 aircraft export-version rolls off production line

GUIYANG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The export version of the China-developed light versatile FTC-2000 aircraft rolled off the production line of the state-owned aircraft developer in Anshun in southwest China's Guizhou Province Monday.

With its desert-camouflage paint appearance, the FTC-2000 was developed by the Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
As one of the first batch of its model in the global-military trade market, it will be delivered to overseas clients after necessary procedures and tests, according to AVIC.

The FTC-2000, also named Mountain Eagle, or Shanying in Chinese, is a supersonic advanced fighter trainer. The single-engine light versatile aircraft is a new generation of advanced-fighter trainer designed for advanced training and lead-in fighter training for modern fighters. It is also capable of performing combat missions.

The supersonic aircraft has a mach number of 1.5, and a maximum service ceiling of 16,000 meters.
"It can be used for senior training, elementary combat training and tactical countermeasure training for fighter pilots. And it also has the ability to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground combat," according to Hu Jianxing, deputy manager and chief designer with the AVIC Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation.

"It completed the 'Stall and Spin Flight Test' within two seconds at the research stage. The FTC-2000 has high safety characteristics," said Hu, adding the model was highly efficient and reliable.
The FTC-2000 maiden flight was on December 13, 2003. And the model has made two public aerobatic flight displays, at the 2006 and 2016 China Airshow in Zhuhai.
In China, the FTC-2000 is the the main advanced trainer used by the PLA Air Force and the PLA Navy.

"The domestic version and export version have the same flying platform. And both are installed with China's home-developed WP-13 turbojet engine, which has been tested for high performance," Hu said. "The export version will be installed with various avionics systems, navigation guidance systems or external stores tailored for overseas client's demand for multiple missions."

Meet China's latest 50 km/hour amphibious wheeled AFV prototype

This latest North China Institute of Vehicle Research prototype achieved 50km/hour during a calm water speed test.. If verified, it will place it at the forefront of the high speed amphibious expeditionary fighting vehicle race. 

The prototype weights in 5.5 tons. Its four wheels can retrace to the chassis at 70 degrees thus reducing resistance during a high speed sprint .  This retracing mechanism is controlled via a digital stabilizer integrated into the suspension.  Since this is still a prototype/POC, the light armor on its chassis is not unexpected.

What's unknown at this point are its range (land and sea), cruise speed, development status and buoyancy

Monday, June 27, 2016

PR photo of the day: ZTD05 Amphibious Assault Gun on AAAV Chassis in Ramming Speed

But who cares, those "million-man swim" PR photos are the real gem here!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

14th Amphibious Armored Brigade, 31st Group Army, East Theater Command

The 14th conducted a brigade size, live fire, amphibious assault drill last week.  No big deal, that is what they do.  Besides, according to United States Army war College's 2015 study "The Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2025"  (link here)

"Strategic sealift beyond Taiwan is quite limited. China has never possessed a robust capability to transport and land troops under combat  conditions"  (page 217)

Global Security also chimed in on the sealift question  (link here)

First among these limitations is the capability to transport and sustain more than one division of ground troops and equipment by sea or air, according to the US DOD report to Congress on China's military [down from three four decades earlier]. The PLA Navy’s total amphibious lift capacity was estimated in 2009 to be one infantry division of approximately 10,000 troops and equipment at one time.

Or as Patrick Tyler correctly pointed out in his NYT article (link here)

If China has learned anything in decades of conflict with Taiwan, it is that an all-out invasion of Taiwan is well beyond its capabilities. The joke commonly heard among Western military experts is that a Chinese assault on Taiwan would have to be called ''the million man swim.'' 

To perform this historic "million man swim"  the PLA could call up their two Marine Brigades, two Amphibious Mech Infantry Divisions (the 1st of the 1st Group Army, and the 124th of the 42nd Group Army) and every unit of the 1st, 12th, 31st, 41st and 42nd Group Army of the East Theater Command.  No worries, they will be dressed up but with no boat to go.

Click on the vid below to see the amphibious assault drill