China’s exhibition of new drones, electronic warfare systems, and missiles
reflects its priority on developing advanced technologies, exploiting U.S. vulnerabilities,
and completing its regional reconnaissance-strike complex.
While Beijing can range U.S. theater forces with long-range missiles, its investments in radar
and reconnaissance drones have enhanced its ability to target them. Meanwhile,
China’s procurement of advanced electronic warfare systems threatens to deny the United
States these same advantages, jamming U.S. ISR platforms and decoupling its kill chain.
Through its parade, China has offered the clearest indication of its vision for future warfare.
Jammer-equipped aircraft, trucks, and ships will blind U.S. sensors. A networked complex of drones,
radars, and satellites will feed vital targeting information to China’s missile forces.
And future hypersonic weapons, flying fast and low, will evade U.S. missile defenses.
Here are the china's ultimate war machine that terrify its opponents.
Drones
China revealed the GJ-11, a carrier-based unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) based off the PLA’s
Lijian testbed. Featuring a stealthy exhaust section and revised aerodynamics, the GJ-11 is
designed to conduct long-range strikes and supply targeting information to Chinese missile forces.
In addition, China revealed the WZ-8, an air-launched supersonic drone. Likely
released from a bomber, the rocket-propelled WZ-8 is intended to conduct reconnaissance
and battle damage assessment on U.S. carrier strike groups. Though the WZ-8 is unlikely to
possess the loitering capability needed to support missile targeting, it could aid Chinese aircraft
in locating and targeting enemy surface forces. According to media reports,
the drone may have already entered service with the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command.
Finally, China displayed a new unmanned underwater vehicle
(UUV). Designed to conduct “battlefield environment reconnaissance” and
“enemy surveillance,” the drone represents a further development in China’s anti-submarine
and underwater ISR capabilities. Although its effectiveness remains uncertain,
it does show Chinese interest in chipping away at U.S. undersea dominance.
China’s limited ability to detect and track U.S. theater forces
has previously constrained its strike potential. By procuring new drones, satellites,
and unmanned naval intelligence platforms, Beijing aims to complete its own kill chain.
YJ-12B, YJ-18/-18A
First revealed in 2015, the YJ-12 is a ramjet-propelled supersonic anti-ship missile
with an estimated range of 500 km. The parade marks the first public appearance of the YJ-12B,
a ground-launched variant of the missile. According to media reports,
the YJ-12B has already entered Chinese service.
The YJ-18, meanwhile, is a subsonic anti-ship missile with an estimated range
between 220 and 540 km. After cruising to the target under turbojet propulsion,
the YJ-18 releases a rocket-propelled warhead which accelerates to supersonic velocities.
Bearing an external resemblance to Russia’s 3M54TE cruise missile,
the YJ-18 had been known but not publicly showcased prior to the parade.
CJ-100/DF-100
Unknown to the public before the National Day celebration,
the CJ-100 is most likely a long-range,
supersonic cruise missile. Footage revealed days before the parade indicates that the missile is
vertically launched and uses ramjet propulsion. Little else is publicly known about it.
DF-17
The DF-17, a “short to medium-range” ballistic missile, combines a DF-15-like
rocket booster with a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle. First tested in January 2014,
the missile had not been publicly displayed until the October 1 parade. Public photographs
of a similar hypersonic test article—the WU-14/DF-ZF—first surfaced in late 2017.
According to Chinese state media, the DF-17 is intended to defeat U.S. and
allied missile defenses, which struggle to engage low-flying, maneuvering threats.
Unlike traditional ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles can modify their trajectory through
most of their flight, creating uncertainty over where to commit defensive interceptors.
This, however, makes boost-glide vehicles vulnerable to point defenses.
Traveling at slower velocities than their ballistic counterparts,
hypersonic glide vehicles retain less energy to spend on evasive maneuvers in terminal flight.
DF-26
First unveiled in 2015, the DF-26 is an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)
with a 4,000 km range. The missile can carry a variety of nuclear and conventional payloads
and is typically seen with a maneuvering warhead. Such a payload may aid in penetrating
terminal missile defenses or striking mobile targets. According to Chinese media sources,
China’s defense industry began developing the missile as early as 2008.
China first tested the DF-26 in 2016, conducting its latest flight test in January 2019. China
reportedly tested a rumored anti-ship variant, the DF-26B, in 2017 To successfully strike a moving
target like a ship with a ballistic missile, however, would likely require an ISR asset
providing near-real-time targeting information, most likely an unmanned aerial system.
DF-5B
During the parade, China also displayed an upgraded variant of the DF-5, its oldest ICBM.
Designated the DF-5B, the missile entered service in 2015 and is the first variant of the 1970s-era
DF-5 to carry multiple independently-targeted reentry vehicles (MIRV). Unlike China’s newer
missiles, the DF-5B is silo-based and takes a considerable time to move or fire.
Despite analysts’ expectations, China did not showcase the DF-5C, a modernized DF-5 variant
with a 10-MIRV payload. Beijing may have tested the DF-5C as recently as 2017. Such an absence
may reflect China’s emphasis on procuring new technologies; while the DF-5C test served to
signal China’s resolve and demonstrate its ability to miniaturize nuclear warheads, China may not
intend to further develop the DF-5 platform. Though the “old-fashioned” DF-5-series remains
a core element of China’s current force, its underlying technology has become nearly obsolete.
DF-31AG
Beijing’s inclusion of DF-31AG missiles in the parade reflects its focus on modernizing its
nuclear forces. The DF-31 is a solid-fueled ICBM which entered Chinese service in 2006. An upgraded
variant, the DF-31A, possesses a range of up to 11,700 km and is fitted with a 1-3 megaton
nuclear warhead. First displayed in mid-2017, the DF-31AG is the latest upgrade of the DF-31A,
equipped with a ruggedized launch vehicle for traversing unpaved terrain. No longer limited
to China’s roads, the DF-31AG could disperse to more remote areas, making it difficult to target.
JL-2
The National Day Parade also marked the first public appearance of the JL-2,
a submarine-launched ballistic missile which underwent a troubled development period from
1983 to 2015. This public display—combined with repeated declarations of the missile’s
maturity—reflect Beijing’s growing confidence in its sea-based deterrent. Derived from the DF-31,
the JL-2 reportedly possesses a maximum range of over 8,000 km and may be MIRV-capable.
DF-41
The DF-41 ICBM represents the culmination of China’s strategic modernization efforts,
occupying the final position in the 70th anniversary procession. While the missile’s
existence was reported by the Pentagon since 1997, no complete images of the system became
available until two missile brigades—armed with eight missiles each, appeared at the
National Day parade. The future “mainstay” of China’s nuclear forces, the road-mobile
DF-41 reportedly possesses an operational range of 15,000 km and is MIRV-capable. The
missile will likely share key technologies with the JL-3, China’s next-generation SLBM.