At its military parade on Wednesday, China showcased hypersonic missiles to sink ships, drones that serve as wingmen and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that can strike the continental United States.<\/p>\n
The jets that screamed across the sky and the columns of missiles and armored vehicles that rolled past Tiananmen Square in Beijing provided a rare look at China\u2019s new weapons.<\/p>\n
All military hardware paraded <\/p>\n
Note: Only equipment paraded on the ground is shown, excluding three support and logistics formations.<\/p>\n
The massive military parade, presided over<\/a> by China\u2019s leader Xi Jinping, was a warning to his country\u2019s prospective foes.<\/p>\n The anti-ship missiles seemed tailor-made to menace American forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Long-range rocket launchers magnified Beijing\u2019s threat to Taiwan, the self-governed island democracy. The armored vehicles that can be dropped from planes appeared to extend China\u2019s ability to defend its growing global interests.<\/p>\n If one theme stood out, analysts said, it was that the People\u2019s Liberation Army is betting on unmanned systems to gain a potential edge in battle.<\/p>\n New Missile Threats to U.S. Navy Ships<\/p>\n One of the parade\u2019s strongest warnings to U.S. forces was in four new models of anti-ship missiles, three of which were hypersonic, according to state media<\/a>, meaning they travel at least five times the speed of sound and can maneuver to evade defenses.<\/p>\n \u201cBeijing\u2019s decision to showcase these weapons sends a not-so-subtle message to Taiwan and Washington that China has the ability to threaten American warships,\u201d said Timothy R. Heath<\/a>, a senior researcher at the global policy institute RAND who studies the Chinese military.<\/p>\n For China, having more advanced hypersonic missiles bearing down at different speeds and angles on enemy warships may make it harder for an enemy navy to avoid or counter attacks.<\/p>\n The most notable of the anti-ship missiles might be the YJ-19, a cruise missile that appears to use a \u201cscramjet,\u201d which burns its fuel in an airflow moving at supersonic speed, a design that helps give the missile its high speed.<\/p>\n Hypersonic anti-ship missile Photo by Tingshu Wang\/Reuters<\/p>\n The missile\u2019s features suggest that it could have both a highly unpredictable flight path and the ability to fly its last leg at a lower altitude than ballistic missiles, albeit at a slower speed, said Eric Heginbotham<\/a>, a principal research scientist in the security studies program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n It was unclear whether the YJ-19 and other new missiles were already in service. The potential impact on U.S. Navy ships\u2019 vulnerability will depend on how many of the missiles China can make and deploy, Mr. Heginbotham said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot all of what they will show will be operational,\u201d he said of the parade. \u201cThat\u2019s been true in the past, and it remains true now.\u201d<\/p>\n New Weapons for Ground Troops<\/p>\n The parade showcased new armored ground vehicles that could be dropped from transport planes. The vehicles had what appeared to be periscope-like viewers to allow troops to observe their surroundings from inside the vehicles.<\/p>\n New airborne combat vehicles<\/strong> Photo by Maxim Shemetov\/Reuters<\/p>\n The new vehicles showed that China was investing in possible rapid deployment to Taiwan or even far beyond China, said Joshua Arostegui,<\/a> the research director of the China Landpower Studies Center at the U.S. Army War College.<\/p>\n \u201cAdding such advanced armor to the airborne corps will give these light infantry forces much more firepower and protection when they are dropped behind enemy lines or rapidly responding to dangerous situations abroad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Also featured were remote-controlled armored buggies that can clear mines and pick up wounded soldiers. \u201cThe biggest issue with these systems is going to be cost and repair,\u201d Mr. Arostegui noted.<\/p>\n A Glimpse of Future Sea and Air Combat<\/p>\n Two sleek submersible drones made their debut, signaling China\u2019s ambitions to compete with the United States beneath the waves using \u201cextra-large uncrewed undersea vehicles<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n One was a 60-foot, torpedo-shaped vessel with a smooth hull, while the other had small masts that could be used for communications.<\/p>\n Source: U.S. Army ODIN<\/p>\n Photo by Ng Han Guan\/Associated Press<\/p>\n Little is publicly known about China\u2019s new undersea vehicles, or how they stack up against similar vehicles being developed by the United States<\/a>, Russia<\/a> and other naval powers. What stands out is the sheer number of undersea vehicles that China is developing, said Jennifer Parker,<\/a> a former anti-submarine warfare officer in the Australian Navy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe range of types indicates they may be more advanced in this endeavor than other countries,\u201d said Ms. Parker, now an expert at the National Security College of Australian National University.<\/p>\n China may also be looking to arm some of its models, Ms. Parker suggested, pointing to the features of the AJX002 model shown at the parade. \u201cGiven the lack of masts and its size, it looks like it’s weaponized,\u201d she said. \u201cCould be some sort of self-propelled mine or torpedo-like capability.\u201d<\/p>\n Jet fighters, bombers and other air force planes also roared through the sky, while on the ground, trucks carried large drones that looked like small fighter jets. It was a sign of China\u2019s plans to pair manned and unmanned aircraft in future wars.<\/p>\n Photo by Maxim Shemetov\/Reuters<\/p>\n China and other powers are betting that artificial intelligence will make it possible for piloted jets to fly alongside such so-called \u201cloyal wingmen\u201d drones, which may help surveil and attack enemy aircraft and block missiles from hitting the manned fighters.<\/p>\n The number of large drones and unmanned planes in the parade showed that China is heavily committed to this new field, said Andreas Rupprecht<\/a>, an expert on Chinese military aviation who is based in Germany. \u201cIn many technological areas, it is in the fast lane \u2014 sometimes on par with, or even ahead of, leading powers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n None of the unmanned planes were shown in flight, though. They may still be a work in progress.<\/p>\n Nuclear Expansion<\/p>\n Among the most closely watched weapons were China\u2019s nuclear forces. That included the missiles labeled \u201cDF-31BJ\u201d that rumbled past Tiananmen Square, hinting at the country\u2019s plans to expand its intercontinental force, which could strike the United States.<\/p>\n The label indicated that the missile may be a version of China\u2019s road-mobile DF-31 intercontinental nuclear missile, adapted for silo launch, said Ankit Panda<\/a>, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of \u201cThe New Nuclear Age.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo by Tingshu Wang\/Reuters<\/p>\n China displayed<\/a> nuclear-capable missiles for submarines and aircraft at the parade, but it does not disclose how many nuclear weapons it has. The Federation of American Scientists<\/a> estimates that China has about 600 warheads. China has also upgraded the missiles, submarines and bombers that can carry the warheads.<\/p>\n