V-Day parade to unveil advanced weapons

A number of the Chinese military's advanced weapons are set to be unveiled at the upcoming V-Day parade on Sept 3, representing the latest achievements in the armed forces' modernization efforts, according to a senior military official.

Major General Wu Zeke, a senior officer from the Central Military Commission's Joint Staff Department and deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Military Parade, told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday that all of the hardware to be displayed has been domestically developed and built, and has been in active service.

"It will be a comprehensive debut of our new-generation weaponry since the National Day parade in October 2019," he said.

China will stage a grand military parade on Sept 3 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. This will be the country's 19th military parade since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949 and the second V-Day parade.

During the first part of the parade, troops — members of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force, as well as China's militia and reserve service — will line up in formations along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, and they will be reviewed by President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The second part of the 70-minute celebration event will consist of shows of flags, processions of troops and ground-based hardware, and a flyby of aircraft.

The majority of hardware to be shown at the parade will be new models, ranging from main battle tanks to fighter jets, Wu said.

Unmanned platforms, counter-drone equipment and cyberspace operations apparatus will also be highlighted, including new types of combat drones, directed-energy weapons and electronic jamming instruments, he said.

Wu added that to display the PLA's strategic deterrence prowess, a group of new hypersonic, missile-defense and intercontinental ballistic missiles will be displayed at the parade.

"These weapons feature a high level of information and automation capabilities and represent our efforts to adapt to the development trends of science, technology and modern warfare, and will show our strength that will win future wars," Wu said.

He added that a total of 45 marching soldier units, land weaponry groups and aircraft squadrons are set to take part in the parade.

Many military units involved in the event have a long history that can be traced back to the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he said.

Another aspect of the parade is that it will be the first time for the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, Information Support Force and Joint Logistics Support Force to take part, Wu noted.

Major General Xu Guizhong, an official of the PLA Central Theater Command and deputy head of the command's parade organizing headquarters, said that organizers have been using the parade training to enhance troops' fighting spirit, hone their operational skills, and help them become familiar with new weapons.

"We have used a positioning service based on China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System and intelligent assessment tools to facilitate the troops' training, and that has proved very useful and efficient," Xu said.

Commanders have asked troops to make full use of this precious opportunity to strengthen their awareness and capabilities regarding joint operations, according to Xu.