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Chinese People’s Liberation Army Lists Weapons to be Used in Border Conflict with India

Chinese State-owned media Global Times on Sunday has listed Type 15 light tank, PCL-181 vehicle-mounter howitzer, Z-20 helicopter and Wing Loong II (GJ-2) combat drone and other weapons to be used in a potential border conflict with India. Since the Doklam standoff with India in 2017, the Chinese military has expanded its arsenal with weapons that should give China the advantage in high-altitude conflicts should they arise. China 30-ton Type 15 tank and 25-ton PCL-181 vehicle-mounter howitzer were spotted in Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region in January, very close to India’s Ladakh.

The Type 15 light tank, also known as VT-5, is designed to fulfill the requirement from Chinese army for a lighter, mobile modern tank that can effectively operate in China’s plateaus, forests, and water-heavy regions in which heavier Type 99 tanks have difficulties traversing. With its advanced fire control systems and 105 millimeter caliber armor-piercing main gun, the Type 15 lightweight tank can outgun any other light armored vehicles at high elevations. The PCL-181 or SH-15 155mm wheeled vehicle-mounted howitzer weighs only 25 tons, making it much lighter and faster and with longer endurance than the previous self-propelled howitzer which uses crawler tracks and weighs more than 40 tons.

The Z-20 medium-lift helicopter can adapt to all kinds of terrain and weather and can be used on missions including personnel and cargo transport, search and rescue and reconnaissance. “The Z-20 can operate in oxygen-depleted plateaus thanks to its powerful homemade engine. Focusing on plateau operations, the Z-8G is the first of its kind in China and can take off from 4,500 meters above sea level with a ceiling higher than 6,000 meters. The Chengdu Wing Loong II, military designation GJ-2, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in the People’s Republic of China.

    https://militaryleak.com/2020/06/04/chinese-peoples-liberation-army-lists-weapons-to-be-used-in-border-conflict-with-india/

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Chinese People’s Liberation Army Conducts Troop Transport Exercise Amid Border Tensions with India

Chinese State-owned media Global Times reported on Saturday that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has organized a large-scale maneuver operation to the country’s high-altitude northwestern region over a long distance from Central China’s Hubei Province amid border tensions between China and India. The entire process was completed in just a few hours, demonstrating China’s capability of quickly reinforcing border defenses when necessary. The mobilization showed the PLA has the capability to project its power anywhere in China very quickly and send reinforcements to remote locations with harsh environments, including high elevation.

Using civilian airlines, logistical transportation channels and railways, several thousand paratroopers under a PLA Air Force airborne brigade recently maneuvered from Hubei to an undisclosed location in the plateaus of northwestern China thousands of kilometers away. Several hundred pieces of military equipment including armored vehicles and huge batches of supplies were also involved in the operation, which ended successfully in just a few hours. Hubei is the province hit hardest by the COVID-19 outbreak, but it has now fully recovered and troops there are ready to conduct exercises and prepare for combat.

On May 14 Groups of tanks and armored vehicles attached to the 76th Group Army under the PLA Western Theater Command also conducted a long-distance maneuver. Global Times on Sunday has listed Type 15 light tank, PCL-181 vehicle-mounter howitzer, Z-20 helicopter and Wing Loong II (GJ-2) combat drone and other weapons to be used in a potential border conflict with India. Since the Doklam standoff with India in 2017, the Chinese military has expanded its arsenal with weapons that should give China the advantage in high-altitude conflicts should they arise. China 30-ton Type 15 tank and 25-ton PCL-181 vehicle-mounter howitzer were spotted in Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region in January, very close to India’s Ladakh.

The mobilization operation came at a time when China and India face a new wave of tensions due to high altitude border issues, as reports say both sides have reinforced their border defenses. Senior military officers from both sides, namely China’s Southern Xinjiang Military District chief and India’s 14 Corps commander, on Saturday held a first round of talks, which ended with a “positive trajectory”. China’s Foreign Ministry has stressed at the recent regular press briefings that the situation on the China-India border is stable and controllable, and diplomatic and military channels of communication between the two sides are unimpeded.

   https://militaryleak.com/2020/06/07/chinese-peoples-liberation-army-conducts-troop-transport-exercise-amid-border-tensions-with-india/

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Thousands of Chinese Airbornes Train at High Altitude Amid Border Stand-Off With India

Chinese newspaper Global Times released a video on Sunday showing thousands of paratropers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force airborne brigade maneuvering from central China’s Hubei Province to a northwestern, high-altitude region, for large-scale drills. took just a few hours to maneuver from Central China’s Hubei Province to northwestern, high-altitude region amid China-India border tensions. ​The video comes a day after the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that India and China had agreed during bilateral talks between army commanders to peacefully settle tensions along the Line of Actual Control.

Tensions over the disputed border worsened in early May after violent face-offs in the Himalayas, which left dozens of soldiers on both sides injured. Following the clashes, Indian media reported that New Delhi and Beijing had deployed additional troops to the border area in Ladakh, a region administered by India. But following that incident, roughly 250 Indian and Chinese troops engaged in clashes on the northern bank of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, an area that has been disputed by Pakistan, India and China for decades. Soldiers on both sides suffered injuries, and clashes have continued since then.

New Delhi and Beijing are engaged in a month-long stand off at the loosely demarcated Line of Actual Control, created after the 1962 war between the two the Asian giants. The countries have resorted to diplomatic channels but have so far failed to resolve the border issue. Since the Indian and China do not have a marked border, there have been a number of skirmishes between the two sides over the decades. China’s Foreign Ministry has stressed at the recent regular press briefings that the situation on the China-India border is stable and controllable, and diplomatic and military channels of communication between the two sides are unimpeded.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps is a corps directly under the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) headquarters.The PLAAF Airborne Corps’ weapons inventory includes ZBD-03 derivatives and 2S9 self-propelled mortars, large numbers of BJ212 jeeps with 105mm recoilless rifles or HJ-11 ATGM, and Type 89 120 mm SP anti-tank guns. The last two weapon platforms are air transportable. The last two weapon platforms are air transportable. There will also be more heavier armored units making use of recently inducted Type-15 light tanks, PCL-181 wheeled vehicle-mounted 155mm howitzers and new generation airborne armored vehicles in future deployments.

   https://militaryleak.com/2020/06/09/thousands-of-chinese-airbornes-train-at-high-altitude-amid-border-stand-off-with-india/

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A China está flexionando seus músculos na fronteira com a Índia...

MBTs and IFVs rumble in plateau mountainous area

Infantry fighting vehicles attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army muster and rumble to a designated training field in the snow-covered plateau area on June 4.Photo:China Military

Infantry fighting vehicles attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army muster and rumble to a designated training field in the snow-covered plateau area on June 4.Photo:China Military

Type-99 main battle tanks (MBTs) attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army rumble through man-made obstacles as they infiltrate into the mock enemy positions on June 4.Photo:China Military

Type-99 main battle tanks (MBTs) attached to a brigade under the PLA 76th Group Army rumble through man-made obstacles as they infiltrate into the mock enemy positions on June 4.Photo:China Military

    https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191408.shtml

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Military vehicles attached to an artillery brigade under the PLA 74th Group Army conduct a convoy maneuver under strange and complicated terrain conditions on June 7, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Huang Hai)

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https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/pla-border-patrol-unit-in-tibet-using-new-exoskeleton-system

PLA border patrol unit in Tibet using new exoskeleton system

Chinese broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) revealed in a 9 December report that a new, locally developed exoskeleton system is being used by at least one People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) border defence unit in Tibet.

Footage released by the state-owned media outlet showed members of a unit in Ngari Prefecture putting on the unpowered exoskeletons and conducting patrols at an altitude of 5,000 m above sea level while carrying backpacks, each of which weighed about 20 kg, according to CCTV.

The broadcaster reported that this particular exoskeleton – the designation of which was not disclosed – is aimed at helping soldiers carry out tasks more efficiently in “harsh, high-altitude environments” and quoted one of the soldiers as saying that the weight of the backpacks is transferred to the frames of the exoskeleton instead of the user’s legs.

CCTV reported that exoskeletons were also recently used by soldiers attached to the PLA’s Xinjiang Military Command as part of a supply delivery mission, during which each of them carried 20 kg of food and water supplies in their backpacks. It is unclear, however, whether these soldiers used the same type of exoskeleton.

The broadcaster provided no further details about the recently deployed system but the report comes amid China’s efforts to expand the use of exoskeletons among some of its military units to help soldiers save energy while carrying out their duties, including carrying heavy loads.

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Organização das Brigadas Mecanisadas.

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MBT Type 99A

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Guide to Chinese Army Ranks