Tuesday, March 27, 2018

PLAN Ship of the day: FFG542 Tongling, the last of the Type 053H2G class

Out of the original four JiangWei I class frigates, only the Tongling remains with the PLAN. The first three were transferred to the China Coast Guard in 2015.    Now with her equipment removed, it seems that she will be joining her three sisters shortly.    





JiangWei Is on patrol as Coast Guard cutters 




Sunday, March 25, 2018

74th LH Brigade, 74h Group Army, to replace its Z-8 helicopters with Z-20

The PLA Army Aviation has not been happy with their Changhe Z-8A mainly due to its low performance, heavy maintenance overhead and worst of all, prone to stall at mid-air (here). After only 6 years of service  the 76th LH Brigade is ready to rip-and-replace it with Z-20.

The Z-8A variant is in limited service with the PLA, no one will miss them when they are gone.  The improved B, K, S and J variants seem to enjoy a greater success with the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.







Saturday, March 24, 2018

Photo of the day: PLAN Marine's wheeled PLL09 122mm 8x8 Self-Propelled Howitzer

Sunday, February 18, 2018

PLAN Marine training with ZBL09 wheeled IFV

One of the newly commissioned PLAN Marine units is seen here training with ZBL09 wheeled IFV..   Perhaps they are just waiting for their AAAV to arrive, or they are not intended to "storm the beach" like their 1st and 2nd Marine Brigade counterparts but rather fan-out rapidly after a beachhead is secured.    But one thing is certain -- they are willing to trade armor protection for speed.

As a side note, the PLAN Marine stationed in Djibouti here is also sporting the same wheel based ZBL09





ZTL09 Wheeled light tank is also spotted






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.



Thursday, March 22, 2018

Adding a new meaning to the slogan "Army Of One"

Civilian-oriented troops withdrawn from armed police force, enhancing CPC management

Source: Global Times
Editor: Huang Panyue

Time: 2018-03-22


In a move to enhance the Communist Party of China's management of the country's armed forces, Beijing on Wednesday announced the complete withdrawal of civilian-oriented, firefighting and frontier defense troops from the People's Armed Police Force.

The withdrawal of armed police force units engaged in civilian affairs would disentangle the previous complicated chain of command, Chinese military analysts said.

Troops that were formerly part of the armed police and managed by institutes of the State Council have now officially withdrawn from this system in a bid to fully implement the Party's absolute leadership over the People's Liberation Army, and other national armed forces, according to an article published by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s official WeChat public account on Wednesday.

Such reforms are being carried out alongside ongoing reforms of the Party, State institutions and the military, Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University in Beijing told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The reform follows command of China's armed police being transferred in December to the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC) from the State Council.

The armed police force units are now withdrawn from armed police registration and placed under the management of local administrations including public security and emergency response regulators, the article read.

Maritime police forces, that used to be under the leadership of State Oceanic Administration, now start to serve their duties as armed police forces.

Armed police forces that previously answered to civil-related duties including gold, forestry and hydropower troops have been transferred to State institutions accordingly while no longer in army service.

Responsible forces with the country's customs are now part of the armed police.

Such reform could significantly correct misnaming errors and stressed the absolute leadership of the Party over its armed forces including the armed police, Li noted.


Firefighters, nolonger part of the PAP







Monday, January 22, 2018

PR photos of the day: PAP, China's other ground force.

It would be unwise to ignore such an important element in any China related war scenario, especally they are now part of the CMC just like their Army counterpart.

From SCMP (here)

China brings People’s Armed Police under control of top military chiefs.  Paramilitary force will answer to body headed by President Xi Jinping

China will bring its paramilitary police force, the People’s Armed Police, under the direct control of the Central Military Commission, which controls the country’s armed forces, state media reported on Wednesday.

The 1.5 million-strong paramilitary police force previously came under a dual command structure of the CMC and the State Council, or cabinet, via the Ministry of Public Security. It serves as a backup for the military in times of war, and domestically has a role in putting down protests and counterterrorism – particularly in areas such as the restive far western Xinjiang region – as well as border defence and firefighting.






















Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Type59 MBT, Unmanned Combat Systems

Just in case you are wondering what happened to all those Type59s.  Well, recently 300 of them have been exported to the Bangladesh Army (to be upgraded to as Type 59G(BD) Durjoy variant), some will be converted as VN11 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the lucky ones will be training targets and last but not least, became Unmanned Combat Systems


Type 59 as a training target


Type59 MBT, Unmanned Combat Systems





MARCH 21, 2018 / 9:02 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
China trials unmanned tanks in latest modernization push
Reuters Staff

2 MIN READ

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is testing unmanned tanks which could be equipped with artificial intelligence, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday, as the country continues with its military modernization program.

State television showed images this week of the unmanned tanks undergoing testing, the Global Times newspaper reported.

Footage showed a Type 59 tank being driven by remote control, in what the paper said was the first time a Chinese-made unmanned tank has been shown in a public forum.

The Type 59 tank is based on an old Soviet model first used in China in the 1950s and has been produced in large numbers and has a long service life, it said.

“A large number of due-to-retire Type 59 tanks can be converted into unmanned vehicles if equipped with artificial intelligence,” Liu Qingshan, the chief editor of Tank and Armoured Vehicle, told the newspaper.

Unmanned tanks will be able to work on other unmanned equipment, integrate information from satellites, aircraft or submarines, the report added.

China is in the middle of an impressive modernization program for its armed forces, including building stealth fighters and new aircraft carriers, as President Xi Jinping looks to assert the country’s growing power.