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China anniversary parade to unveil hi-tech military gear: report
BEIJING, Sept 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China will likely unveil a new
supersonic drone and intercontinental ballistic missiles at a military parade
next week marking 70 years of Communist Party rule, according to Paris-based
researchers.
The October 1 procession will display the army’s “unprecedented”
conventional and nuclear ballistic capabilities, said the Paris-based
Foundation for Strategic Research in a report based on images analysed by
Geo4i.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has tried to keep its plans under wraps
— even moving tanks in the dead of night during dress rehearsals — but the
France-based researchers used satellite images to spot hardware likely to be
shown off next week.
On Tuesday President Xi Jinping will preside over what Beijing has promised
to be the biggest military and civilian parade in the history of the country.
The Chinese defence ministry says 15,000 troops will march next week, and
580 pieces of military hardware will be displayed — as well as more than 160
aircraft.
Beijing has denied the procession will be an aggressive display of power,
but the French report said the show of force will demonstrate the
“quantitative and qualitative modernisation” of China’s ballistic arsenal.
The research used images from the Yangfang military base in the suburbs of
Beijing, which has replicas of Tiananmen Square and the southern gate of the
Forbidden City to prepare for military parades.
The report says 36 ICBM-type missiles appeared during the rehearsals.
One of the missiles is the DF-41, which is the first Chinese solid-fuel
propelled intercontinental missile to carry a heavy payload and cover the
entire US territory, the foundation said.
The ICBM could carry up to 10 warheads, compared to three that can be
carried by the DF-31AG missile.
China could also use the parade to display 16 DF-17s, a likely short-to-
medium-range missile that works as a launcher of the DF-ZF hypersonic glider,
which is hidden under a tarp in the satellite images.
The glider is believed to be able to carry conventional and nuclear
devices, and be able to dodge anti-missile systems.
“The emergence of such a system would have a considerable impact,
highlighting China’s progress in designing hypersonic non-strategic gliders,
a segment in which Russians and Americans are lagging behind,” the foundation
said.
China will also likely unveil the WZ-8, a supersonic reconnaissance drone
that could potentially be deployed by aircraft, the research said.
Such a vehicle could be used to spot distant targets “on very short notice”
and hit them with a conventional ballistic strike.
It could be joined at the parade by a stealth drone dubbed “Sharp Sword”,
which can support naval operations.
“These images herald a parade that, in form and substance, will mark a
significant transformation of China’s strategic nuclear and conventional
forces,” the report said.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1844 hrs