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China's military weapons

China's military weapons
Latest news, features and opinion on the military in China, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the development of warships, aircraft carriers and fighter jets, spending on the armed forces and reforms and modernisation. US-China and mainland-Taiwan military tensions and the deployment of China’s armed forces overseas are also covered.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

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15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
The Y-30 is powered by four domestically made AEP-500 turboprop engines. Photo: Weibo
Mainland China

Move over, Hercules: China’s new Y-30 aims to outmuscle America’s best

PLA’s four-engine turboprop described as outperforming US counterpart in engine power, payload capacity, structure and material.

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Drones

Indonesian fisherman nets surprise catch – a Chinese underwater drone

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Mainland China

China unveils handheld coil gun that works like a ‘less deadly’ pistol

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US-Iran tensions

Iran points finger at Saudis and UAE after Chinese-made drone was shot down

Tehran says it has shot down a Wing Loong II, which could be proof of ‘active complicity’ in the US-Israeli war.

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Iran says a Wing Long II drone has been shot down over its territory. Photo: Dickson Lee
Taiwan

PLA upgrades ageing tanks with protection system for potential Taiwan operation

Type 96A main battle tanks from Eastern Theatre Command now have APS to counter drones and anti-tank missiles, according to state media.

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China-Japan relations

Chinese navy arrives in Sea of Japan just as Tokyo deploys long-range missiles

Five ships transit Tsushima Strait and are tracked heading northeast after China warned of strong response to ‘neo-militarism’.

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Drones

China tests ‘heaviest cargo drone’ suited to high-altitude and island operations

Designed for both military and civilian use, it has 7-tonne take-off weight and is the world’s heaviest cargo drone in full-scale flight.

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China’s Changying--8 drone completed its maiden flight on Tuesday morning at an airport in Zhengzhou in Henan province, central China, according to state media. Photo: CCTV
ICBMs

What the debut of a new air-based missile means for China’s nuclear strategy

Jinglei-1 and H-6N strategic bomber combination completes nuclear triad, boosts second-strike capability, military magazine says.

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Drones

Rise of the ‘wolf pack’: China’s canine robots evolve for urban combat

Chinese state broadcaster highlights robot wolves, drones and laser weapons in new documentary about the PLA’s latest unmanned systems.

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South Korea

What can the Iran war tell China about missile interception?

Journal says China should target boost stage, when ballistic missiles are slower, lack manoeuvrability and emit an intense heat signature.

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New analysis in a Chinese defence journal says the PLA’s current ground- and sea-based missile defence systems are not sufficient. Photo: Reuters
Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign

Former defence exec Tan Ruisong given death sentence for ‘exceptional’ corruption

Tan confessed to taking about US$89 million in bribes and insider trading during his time at Avic.

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Former AVIC chief Tan Ruisong has been given a suspended death sentence for corruption. Photo: Weibo/ 长安街知事
US-China relations

US unlikely to get China to join new nuclear arms control agreement, experts say

Nuclear superpowers not taking active steps towards meaningful negotiation following the expiry of New Start arms treaty in February.

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China’s military drills

New Type 055 destroyers for PLA East China Fleet tested in first live-fire drill

Exercise will ‘rapidly integrate’ the advanced vessels into the joint combat system covering Taiwan and the seas near Japan.

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UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)

Why is China’s ASN-301 suicide drone more deadly than its Iranian counterpart?

In a conflict over Taiwan or western Pacific, Beijing may overwhelm air defences through sheer numbers in a war of economic attrition.

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China’s ASN-301, anti-radiation loitering munition, which shares the Iranian Shahed-136’s aerodynamic delta-wing design. Photo: Handout
US, Israel war on Iran

PLA reveals AI-assisted aerial refuelling system days after US tanker crash

PLA Air Force details streamlined operations that pair tankers and fighters, with real-time recommendations for pilots.

Chinese fighter jets soar over Tiananmen Square in Beijing on September 3, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Photo: Eugene Lee
Corruption in China

J-20 fighter jet designer scrubbed from Chinese Academy of Sciences website

Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector.

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Drones

China leads world in anti-drone patent race with US far behind, law firm finds

Patent filings for anti-drone technology surged 27 per cent last year amid rising global security concerns, says Mathys & Squire.

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ICBMs

Open Questions | Why Iran war may drive East Asia nuclear race, hit China in Mideast: Zhao Tong

Carnegie nuclear policy expert says law of the jungle signalled by US actions could spur more countries to pursue nuclear weapons.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)

Could PLA’s new shipborne drone redefine South China Sea naval operations?

In a first, recent CCTV footage shows a lightweight uncrewed helicopter parked on the Chinese military’s Type 075 amphibious assault ship.

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Defence

How are military helicopters evolving to adapt to the age of drone warfare?

Armed forces such as the US and China are increasingly arming themselves with UAVs, but analysts believe crewed aircraft still have a role.

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Artificial intelligence

China announces AI boost to radar as drone swarms confound detectors in Iran war

Technology allows radar to observe moving targets from multiple angles, gain dynamic information – and even identify potential decoy drones.

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Chinese radar expert Xu Jin says “accurate detection of a large number of drones requires a massive amount of processing power, posing a challenge to traditional radar detection”. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China beats US, Japan in carbon-fibre arms race with world’s first T1200 factory

‘Black gold’ fibre deemed transformative for energy and military purposes, EV innovations, medical devices and low-altitude economy.

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State media says China is the first country to mass produce the strongest carbon fibre available, a development with implications across a number of hi-tech sectors. Photo: CCTV
Nato

Serbia confirms it owns Chinese supersonic missiles after photo leak

‘We have a significant number of those missiles and we will have even more,’ Aleksandar Vucic said, adding they were ‘extremely effective’.

ICBMs

China’s nuclear warhead storage a ‘highly concentrated risk’, US report says

Much of the stockpile is stored at one facility in the country’s northwest that’s accessible only by a narrow road, according to think tank.

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China-Japan relations

Open Questions | War on Iran may spark nuclear arms race, Carnegie scholar says

Zhao Tong says return to law of the jungle signalled by current US actions could spur countries without nuclear weapons to start acquiring them.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Artificial intelligence

China warns US against letting AI ‘determine life and death’ on battlefield

China believes that human primacy must be upheld in military applications of AI, defence ministry spokesman says.

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US Forces strike Iranian military targets in “Operation Epic Fury”. A Chinese defence spokesman says widespread use of AI in war could “erode ethical constraints and accountability in wars”. Photo: Handout
Hypersonic missiles and weapons

What if Iran really did buy export variant of China’s YJ-12 supersonic missile?

Beijing has denied a report that it was close to selling the ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ to Tehran, but it would be a game-changer against US.

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Drones

How cheaply can China fend off a drone swarm with its latest microwave weapon?

HPM technology has become cost-effective enough to be applied against drones in public security situations, state media report.

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