Xi reviews armed forces on National Day for first time

New-type informationized armed forces debut

The new-type informationized armed forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) made their first public appearance in a National Day military parade through Tian'anmen Square.

The forces drove through the square in four formations, each with 16 vehicles, showcasing China's new achievements in national defense and military reform in the information era.

The first formation consisted of vehicles equipped with antennas in different shapes. The new-generation informationized military equipment is capable of helping the PLA gain an upper hand in battlefields with complex electromagnetic conditions.

The second formation demonstrated four models of equipment that are important parts of the PLA's new-generation equipment system for tactical electronic countermeasure.

Covered with urban camouflage, the third formation showcased PLA's latest achievements in new mobile communication equipment, which plays an important role in beefing up the PLA's joint operations and trans-theater combat capabilities based on the network and information system.

The fourth formation included domestically-produced vehicles for meteorology and hydrology observation, topographical survey, forecast support, and mapping and navigation.

Advanced drones, unmanned underwater vehicles shown

China's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) phalanxes were in the spotlight in the military parade.

The weaponry includes reconnaissance drones in multi-range and multi-altitude.

Among them, a high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance drone, the only all black-coating UAV in the parade, made public appearance for the first time.

The phalanx showcases the new-type combat force in the future warfare and all these aerial armaments reviewed are domestically-developed, said Dang Dongxing, a military official of one of the phalanxes, noting that China's unmanned combat armaments are close to or have reached the world leading level in some aspects.

Also displayed in the parade were China's reconnaissance-strike drones, such as GJ-2 and GJ-11, as well as unmanned underwater vehicles.

Precision strike nuclear missiles reviewed

The upgraded Dongfeng-31A missile formation was reviewed during the National Day military parade.

The new Dongfeng-31AG missile is the second-generation solid-fuel intercontinental strategic missile developed by China, with high mobility and precision. It was the second time for this type of nuclear missiles to be reviewed.

The formation is comprised of two missile brigades, representing rocket forces deployed on plateau regions.