On August 1, the People's Liberation Army of China celebrated its anniversary. Over the 85 years that have passed since its foundation, it has managed to change several names, take part in several wars and become an indispensable attribute of the modern appearance of the Celestial Empire. Modern Chinese armed forces trace their history back to 1927, from the time of the Nanchang uprising. Then they received the name of the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party. Over the next nearly twenty years, the Chinese army, along with its country, suffered a number of historical events, such as the war with Japan, etc. In 1946, the Chinese armed forces finally got their modern name - the People's Liberation Army.
In recent decades, the Chinese military has been one of the most powerful forces in the Asian region. Ideological differences with neighbors and superpowers with interests in Asia forced Beijing to actively develop its defense industry and army. It is noteworthy that the main initiator of this development, as well as of many other directions, as well as the "helmsman" of the entire economic and political life of the country, was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In fact, it was this organization, due to certain advantages of a social approach to work, as well as the enthusiasm of citizens, that became the main guiding and motivating force in the construction of industry, economy, etc. Of course, Chinese social, political and economic methods often cause complaints from foreign countries. However, China itself continues to pursue its own policies. In particular, the CPC has been leading the army almost directly to this day.
On the eve of the main celebrations, which took place on August 1, a gala reception was held. It once again noted that the PLA and the CCP are two interconnected "organisms" that complement and help each other. As usual at such events, at the reception they talked a lot about the development and modernization of the armed forces and the defense industry. At the same time, one of the speakers - General Wu Xihua - admitted that the People's Liberation Army has not yet become the leading armed forces in the world. The defense potential of a number of countries is now higher than that of China. For this reason, the Celestial Empire is forced to continue improving its army. For example, the military budget for 2012 is reportedly more than ten percent higher than in 2011.
China's plans for the development of its army are causing the claims of a number of countries. And these are not only direct neighbors. Most often, the words of the representatives of the United States are heard. The discontent of this North American country is caused by several reasons at once. First, China intends to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, where the Americans have interests of their own. Secondly, in combination with a number of economic characteristics, the strengthening of the PLA is considered a rather serious threat to some large countries. Finally, Beijing is often referred to as the so-called. unreliable regimes. High-ranking officials do not speak openly about this, it should be admitted, but this is often what they mean. But the Chinese army is armed with several dozen ICBMs. The range of the most advanced delivery vehicles of the Dongfeng family makes it possible to strike at any NATO country, not to mention the Eastern Hemisphere. Obviously, such weapons will not remain without foreign attention.
As for non-nuclear weapons, then the PLA is not the weakest military organization in the world. First of all, it is worth noting human "resources". More than 2.2 million people are currently serving in the Chinese army. With this number of troops, China has the largest army in the world. Another 800 thousand are in the reserve, and the total mobilization potential of the country (citizens aged 18 to 49) exceeds half a billion. Hardly anyone will be able to compete with China in terms of the massiveness of the armed forces.
The basis of the PLA, like other armies in the world, is the Ground Forces. The overwhelming number of servicemen - 1.7 million - serve in them. The ground forces of China consist of 35 armies, which in turn include 118 infantry, 13 tank, 33 artillery (including air defense) divisions. In addition, 73 divisions of the border troops belong to the PLA. Such a huge number of troops requires a corresponding number of weapons. It is noteworthy that China tries to produce most of its weapons and military equipment on its own, developing from scratch, buying a license or copying foreign samples. This approach allows you to equip the army with a large number of types of weapons. Only small arms are in service with more than 40 models. In the warehouses of infantry, motorized rifle, etc. subdivisions can be found as licensed Soviet pistols TT-33 (Chinese designation "Type 54"), and modern self-developed assault rifles QBZ-95.
PLA soldiers with machine guns QBZ-95
Type 59 and Type 69
With armored vehicles in the PLA, the situation is similar. The tank units have a certain number of Type 59-II medium tanks, which are a deep modernization of the old Soviet T-54/55. Shortly before the Type 59-II, the Type 69 tank was developed. It is a direct continuation of the ideology laid down by Soviet tank builders. It should be admitted that China is also capable of making new technology. So, at the beginning of the two thousandth, the troops began to receive Type 99 tanks. These machines are also not 100% their own development of the Celestial Empire: the project is based on the Soviet T-72. Nevertheless, the characteristics of the latest Chinese tanks are considered to be quite sufficient to fulfill the tasks assigned to them. Over the past couple of years, rumors have been circulating about work on a new tank, which supposedly has no clear resemblance to existing foreign models. If these conversations are based on real facts, then China could finally raise its tank building to a level at which it is able to create its own vehicles from scratch. In total, the PLA has about 6,500 tanks of all types at its disposal.
The main Chinese infantry fighting vehicle for several decades has been the Type 86, which is a licensed version of the Soviet BMP-1. During production and service in China, these armored vehicles were repeatedly upgraded, during which they were equipped with new weapons, communication equipment, etc. According to The Military Balance, at least six hundred of these machines remained in service in 2010. Other Chinese BMPs such as the Type 91 or Type 97 (mistakenly believed to be a copy of the Russian BMP-3) are in much smaller numbers. The total number of infantry fighting vehicles in the PLA does not exceed one and a half thousand. At first glance, the insufficient number of infantry fighting vehicles is to some extent compensated by the used armored personnel carriers. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of vehicles of this type, and currently the Chinese military has 4-5 thousand armored personnel carriers. The main models of machines of this class are tracked "Type 63" and "Type 89". Despite the external similarity, these armored vehicles are quite distant "relatives".
Type 86
Type 91
Type 97
Type 63
Type 89
The artillery of the People's Liberation Army has about 18 thousand weapons. The calibers of the guns range from 100 millimeters ("Type 59") to 155 mm ("Type 88"). Artillery units have weapons of their own and foreign production at their disposal. An example of the latter is the Russian-made Nona-SVK self-propelled guns. In addition, a considerable part of the types of Chinese guns, howitzers and mortars are based on the development of Soviet designers. In addition to barrel artillery, the Chinese Ground Forces have about two and a half thousand units of multiple launch rocket systems. In some parts, towed launchers "Type 81" with a caliber of 107 mm are still preserved. However, the bulk of such weapons has long belonged to self-propelled MLRS. Some of them were purchased abroad or developed independently, taking into account foreign experience. The "crown of creation" of the Chinese developers of MLRS are the WS-2/3 complexes. The declared flight range of 400 mm missiles exceeds 200 km. For this reason, the WS-2 and WS-3 systems have received the nickname "strategic MLRS".
"Strategic MLRS" WS-2
Separately, it is worth dwelling on the so-called. Second Artillery Corps. From the name it follows that this unit is subordinate to the command of the Ground Forces, but this is not the case. In fact, the Second Artillery Corps is directly subordinate to the Central Military Commission of the PRC. The fact is that this corps is in charge of nuclear warheads and their land-based delivery vehicles. According to Western intelligence, China has 240-250 nuclear warheads, 175-200 of which are on duty. Also, Western intelligence claims that China currently has about 90-100 ballistic missiles with an intercontinental range. These are Dongfeng missiles: DF-5 and DF-31. In addition, the arsenals of the Second Artillery Corps have medium and short-range ballistic missiles. Thus, this military unit is in fact the guarantor of the security of the entire state, implementing the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.
According to the views of the Chinese military command (the military of many other countries agree with it on this), the Ground Forces should not go into battle on their own, but with the support of the air force. About three hundred thousand people serve in this branch of the Chinese troops, most of whom belong to the technical and service personnel. The quantitative and qualitative composition of the PLA Air Force is heterogeneous; it contains aircraft developed and assembled with a difference of several decades. Xian H-6 bombers, made on the basis of the Soviet Tu-16, are often cited as an example of "old men". The Chinese Air Force has from 80 to 100-odd such aircraft. The difference in data is due to the fact that some of these bombers are in storage or in reserve. The fleet of fighter aircraft of the People's Liberation Army has a large number: about 1100-1200 pieces of equipment. The vast majority of Chinese fighters are Chengdu J-7 and Shenyang J-8 aircraft of various modifications. More than seven hundred such fighters are already in operation, and about eighty more will enter the units in the coming years. The second largest fighter-bomber is the Chengdu J-10 (at least 250 pieces). Next come the Soviet / Russian Su-27 and Shenyang J-11, as well as the Su-30MKK. In addition, the PLA Air Force has separate aviation units armed with aircraft for striking ground targets in front-line conditions. These are Xian JH-7 and Nanchang Q-5 aircraft. Finally, to ensure the confident operation of its aviation, the Chinese Air Force has about ten KJ-200/2000 early warning and control aircraft.
Xian H-6
Chengdu J-7
Shenyang J-11
Nanchang Q-5
KJ-2000
Shijiazhuang Y-5
The second major part of the PLA Air Force is military transport aviation. At the beginning of 2012, the total number of transport aircraft was estimated at 350-400 aircraft. The most massive of them - Shijiazhuang Y-5 (licensed copy of An-2) was built in a series of 300 machines. In addition, the Chinese Air Force has eight other types of transport and passenger aircraft, in particular the Soviet Il-76 and Tu-154. The latter are used for transporting high-ranking officials.
It should be noted that the Ilyushin machines are used not only for transport purposes. At one time, China received eight Il-78 air tankers from the Soviet Union. In addition to them, the Celestial Air Force has a dozen H-6 bombers converted into a tanker configuration. The presence of two different tanker aircraft at the same time is due to the peculiarities of in-flight refueling systems. The fact is that all new equipment - fighters and interceptors - are refueled using the "hose-cone" system. The obsolete H-6 bombers, in turn, use the wing-to-wing method, which was not widespread and was massively used only on the Tu-16 / H-6.
The helicopter fleet of the Chinese Air Force has 11 types of vehicles, four of which are combat vehicles. These are Harbin WZ-9, Changde Z-11W, CAIC WZ-10 and Aerospatiale SA 342 Gazelle. The first three are produced or produced in China. At the same time, only the WZ-10 and Gazelle are fully adapted for combat work, and not converted from multipurpose helicopters. The total number of combat helicopters does not exceed 100-120 units. The transport fleet of rotary-wing aircraft is several times larger. It is estimated that there are more than two hundred Mi-8 helicopters in China alone. Other helicopters are available in smaller numbers. As for European or American technology, its number is negligible - no more than a couple of dozen of all types.
Z-9WA
CAIC WZ-10
Aerospatiale SA 342 Gazelle
To train pilots, the PLA Air Force has a number of specialized training aircraft and helicopters. These are Nanchang CJ-6 aircraft (development of the Soviet Yak-18), Hongdu JL-8 and L-15, as well as Harbin HC-120 helicopters. The total number of training equipment is in the range of 200-250 units.
The People's Republic of China has one of the most powerful navies in the Asian region. At the same time, it cannot be called completely modern. So, the most massive submarines in the PLA Navy are diesel-electric ships "Type 035" - no less than fifteen units. This project was developed in the USSR in the 50s of the last century and had the numerical designation "633". For its own needs, the Soviet Union assembled only two dozen of these submarines, after which it sold a production license to China. The PLA leadership plans to gradually withdraw the Type 035 boats from the fleet. One of the candidates for replacement were the boats of the Soviet project 636 "Varshavyanka", of which 12 units were purchased. Further in the plans of the command appeared "Type 039" of a similar purpose, but already made in China. To date, 13 boats have been built. Only nine submarines of projects 091 and 093 have the ability to carry missiles with a nuclear warhead. At the same time, some of them, due to their considerable age, are regularly being repaired and therefore not all submarines can be on duty at the same time.
Type 035
Shi lang
Type 051
Type 054
In the near future, the Chinese naval forces will be replenished with the first aircraft carrier Shi Lang, the former Soviet Varyag. In the meantime, the main striking force of the PLA Navy is the destroyers of the Type 51 and Type 52 projects, as well as their modifications. The total number of these ships is 25, not counting those that are currently being completed or undergoing testing. Frigates have a slightly lower combat potential, but they win in numbers - there are nearly fifty of them. These are ships of the "Type 53" and "Type 54" projects. The armament of all destroyers and frigates consists of barreled artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. The list of large warships is closed by the landing ships of project 071. Two such large landing ships are already in service and two more are under construction.
For operations in the coastal zone, China has a "mosquito fleet" of 91 missile boats. In addition, during the implementation of the 037 project, about two hundred patrol boats were built. The total number of combat boats in the Chinese Navy exceeds 300 units. Finally, naval bases have over one and a half hundred landing craft, "classic" and air cushion boats, minesweepers and about 220-230 auxiliary vessels.
Overall, the People's Liberation Army of China is a well-equipped and trained force. At the same time, one of its main problems is a certain technical backwardness. Figuratively speaking, the qualitative aspect of the material part of the PLA looks like a kind of "squeeze" from the Soviet army in the period from the sixties to the eighties of the last century. It is obvious that with such equipment it is now hardly possible to claim a leading position in the world. The leadership of the Chinese armed forces, the Communist Party and the state as a whole understands this very well. The consequence of this understanding is the constant and systematic build-up of the country's military budget. Judging by the latest news regarding the production of weapons and military equipment, Beijing has embarked on a rather useful strategy: first of all, money is invested in new projects and programs. It seems that in the very near future there will be a lot of news about the successful completion of the construction of ships, the supply of new aircraft, etc. will increase.
Against the background of the renewal of the material part, a fair question arises: why is all this necessary? One of the most popular versions (for several decades) is the upcoming landing in Taiwan. However, until now, such an operation has remained at the level of rumors. Recently, the coastal waters of Southeast Asia, as well as some islands away from the Asian coast, have been added to the list of potential theaters of war. And the American bases on the island of Guam have long worried the Chinese leadership. Regardless of its goals, the 85-year-old Chinese People's Liberation Army's final years have evoked mixed feelings. Of course, the pace of renewal and the size of the armed forces, at least, command respect. On the other hand, the presence of such a serious army literally close at hand for Russia cannot but worry. All that remains is to continue updating their army and wait for news regarding Chinese military plans.
