In early June 2024, it was reported that Mauritania had signed a sizable weapon deal with China to boost their defense force with 20 WMA301 (PTL02) 105 mm assault guns, eight TY-90 armed Yitian-L short range air defense systems, six BZK-005E UAVs, and several HJ-9 ATGM systems mount on the CSK181/VN21 chassis. The latest TV report from Mauritania confirmed those reports.
Last week, the PLA Marines stationed at their support post held a three-day training with the local Djiboutian army. The PLA Marines deployed their Type 05 120-millimeter self-propelled mortar and Type 11 105mm armored assault vehicle, while the Djibouti army used their imported W86 120 mm mortar and WMA301 105mm assault gun as counterparts.
Djiboutian army's W86 and WMA301
The PLA Marine from the nearby support base.
In a TV program that marks the 25th anniversary of King Abdullah II's reign, the Jordanian Armed Forces we finally gain a closer look at the SR5 MRL they got from China. The SR5 can launch 5 types of projectiles ranging from 122 mm 220 mm and 300 mm series rockets to cruise and guided missiles.
In addition to SR5, they also imported WM-120 long range MRL from China as well.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army was founded 97 years ago on August 1. To commemorate this anniversary, a "Gun King" shooting match including teams from the PAP, Army, Navy, and Air Force will take place at the Army Infantry Academy.
An opportunity to compare the most recent Type 21 uniform series with the Xingkong (starred sky) pattern at the shooting match between different branches of military service for sure
PAP:
Army
It is safe to assume that no one underestimates the influence of FPV drones on today's battlefield. The PLA, like other military, is also observing the combat that is raging 3,600 kilometers away from China and applying lessons learned there.
For those who track PLA through open source, reports like the one below on PLA adopting drone and trench warfare tactics are commonplace.
China’s DJI currently dominates more than 70% of the global drone market. According to a report by Drone Industry Insights, the market is expected to grow from $30.6 billion in 2022 to $55.8 billion by 2030.(link)
It is unsurprising that the PLA will arm the Z-20 transport helicopter; new photographs of Z-20s with stub wings as mounts for weapons and small total increased lift confirm this anticipation. Some Chinese military analysts are already laboring the stub wings variant "Z-20W" which indicates its secondary vertical assault mission.
Take note of the two different stub wings. The first photo comes from the Navy, and the second is a screen capture of a report on the LH Brigade of the 76th Group Army.
This "Central Theater Command Air Force Bomber Brigade" is organic to Central Theater Command, and unlike other military units, there's no Military Unit Number (MUN) assigned. The H-6N ALBM Carrier, also known as "President Xi's soft-power on display," is housed in this unit.
Birds number: 55031, 55032, 55033, and 55034 below
In March 2023, around 100 VP11 MRAP and VP11 4×4 Lightweight MRAP, and Lynx CS/VP11 ATV were delieved to Mali in their fights against the insurgency (link)
Based on newly disclosed images from the Tuareg rebels, at least one was taken by them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mali-rebels-say-they-killed-and-injured-dozens-of-soldiers-wagner-mercenaries-in-fighting/ar-BB1qLpZT?ocid=BingNewsSerp
BAMAKO (Reuters) -Mali's northern Tuareg rebels said they had killed and
injured dozens of soldiers and Wagner mercenaries in two days of
fighting near the Algerian border, after the army said it had lost two
soldiers but killed some 20 rebels.
The rebel movement, the
Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development
(CSP-PSD), said in a statement on Saturday that it had seized armoured
vehicles, trucks and tankers in the fighting at the border town of
Tinzaouaten on Thursday and Friday.
The rebel group also said it damaged a helicopter, which crashed in the town of Kidal, hundreds of kilometres away.
The
Malian army said in statements that two soldiers had been killed and 10
injured. One of its helicopters had crashed in Kidal on Friday while on
a routine mission but no one was killed, it said.
Several
Russian military bloggers reported on Sunday that at least 20 from the
Wagner group were killed in an ambush near the Algerian border.
"Employees
of the Wagner PMC (Group), who were moving in a convoy with government
troops, were killed in Mali ... Some were captured," said a prominent
Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo.
The
Baza Telegram news channel, which has links to Russia's security
structures, reported that at least 20 Wagner fighters have been killed.
Reuters could not independently verify the bloggers' reports.
The
CSP said in another statement on Sunday that it had fought and defeated
a Malian army batallion backed by Wagner. It said the ennemy had been
"annihilated" and that the few soldiers and mercenaries who survived the
fighting had been taken prisoner.
Seven of its fighters were killed and 12 injured, it added.
Wagner
played a prominent role in some of the fiercest fighting of Russia's
war in Ukraine, but its future was thrown into question when its leader
Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in August, two months
after leading a brief mutiny against the Russian defence establishment.
Mali,
where military authorities seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, is
battling a years-long Islamist insurgency. It has said Russian forces
there are not Wagner mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with
equipment bought from Russia.
Baza's report said on Sunday that Wagner fighters have been in Mali since at least 2021.
The
Tuareg are an ethnic group who inhabit the Sahara region, including
parts of northern Mali. Many of them feel marginalised by the Malian
government.
The separatist group launched an insurgency against
Mali's junta government in 2012 but the rebellion was later hijacked by
Islamist groups.
It signed a peace agreement with Bamako in 2015, but CSP-PSD pulled out of the talks at the end of 2022.
(Reporting
by Tiemoko Diallo; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne;
Writing by Portia Crowe and Lidia Kelly; editing by Clelia Oziel and
David Evans)
