• Land Warfare

  China exhibits new land equipment at Zhuhai

  3rd October 2021

  China shows little sign of slowing the quantity of new equipment for the PLA and for export markets.

• Air Warfare

  Chinese UAVs fly near Japan as new models abound

  1st September 2021

  New and innovative UAV designs continue to flood out of Chinese companies and institutes, while the PLA is getting bolder about flying them farther afield too.

• Air Warfare

  J-10 fighter gets local power boost

  19th May 2021

  Locally produced jet engines are now powering single-engine fighters of the PLAAF.

• Land Warfare

  PLA adopts a new anti-tank guided missile

  31st March 2021

  A modern anti-tank guided missile is among new equipment being adopted by the PLA.

• Land Warfare

  PLA modernises its artillery inventory

  12th February 2021

  Tube artillery, rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers - all are being modernised in China's army to gain mobility, speed and precision and replace old stock.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  WJ-700 flies, as other Chinese UCAVs fight

  20th January 2021

  A new Chinese UAV/UCAV has taken to the skies for the first time. Meanwhile, other Chinese models are being used extensively in combat in the Middle East and North Africa.

• Land Warfare

  Did China use a microwave weapon against Indian soldiers?

  18th November 2020

  If the PLA did employ a microwave weapon against Indian troops, this is likely the first use of the technology in combat.

• Air Warfare

  Chinese KJ-600 AEW may have performed maiden flight

  4th September 2020

  The KJ-600, a carrier-borne airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft destined for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), may have performed its maiden flight on 29 …

• Defence Notes

  China tests reusable spacecraft in secretive ‘star wars’ programme

  10th September 2020

  On 4 September China successfully tested in space a new ‘reusable experimental spacecraft’, nomenclature unknown, after launching it from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in …

• Defence Helicopter

  PLA shows wide-body Z-8 and new helicopter missile

  25th August 2020

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun fielding a wide-body variant of the Z-8 helicopter built by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC). By midyear, approximately six of …

• Land Warfare

  China deploys new vehicle types and is developing new 8x8 AFV

  17th June 2020

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been busy introducing new artillery platforms, and China is currently developing a replacement for its existing 8x8 armoured vehicle. …

• Land Warfare

  PLA unsheathes its Sharp Claws

  6th May 2020

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is now known to be using UGVs for reconnaissance purposes, with the first evidence of their use by the Chinese …

• Air Warfare

  China achieves maiden sale of FTC-2000G fighter

  21st April 2020

  Chinese company Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation (GAIC) made its first sale of the twin-seat FTC-2000G fighter in late January, according to a post in its …

• Land Warfare

  Myanmar to acquire Chinese long-range strike system

  16th April 2020

  Myanmar’s military is reportedly soon set to receive an initial batch of SY-400 precision-guided strike weapons from China. It is not known how many of …

• Land Warfare

  PLA could be ready to adopt VP22 6x6 vehicle

  27th March 2020

  It is possible the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is adopting into service a 6x6 variant of the VP22 armour-protected truck, after one example appeared in …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Artillery UAV [Thailand]

  Programme Background Requirement & Replacement The Royal Thai Army (RTA) was understood to be seeking a new tactical UAV to replace four legacy Israel Aerospace Industries ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  FL-71

  The FL-71 (Fei Long-2  or Flying Dragon-2) is a supersonic unmanned transportation platform designed by ZT Guide Control. The design was presented at Airshow China ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  CM-502KG

  The CM-502KG is a Chinese air-to-surface missile. It is a variant of the CM-502G, similar in size to the AR-1. It has more than twice ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  LD-10

  The Chinese LD-10 anti-radiation missile was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2012. 

• Land: RWS

  UW5

  The UW5 is an uncrewed turret developed by Norinco for integration on AFVs. During its debut at the Zhuhai Airshow in September 2021, it was seen ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VN22

  The VN22 is a 6x6 armoured vehicle unveiled by Norinco at the Zhuhai Airshow in September 2021. Little is known about this vehicle's capabilities, but ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  TD220

  The TD220 is an electric, coaxial dual-rotor UAV manufactured by Zhong Hang Zhi (ZHZ). The aircraft, which debuted at the 2014 Singapore Airshow, is designed ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Mysterious Bee

  The Mysterious Bee hybrid, fixed-wing/quadcopter UAV was unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow 2016. It is designed to operate from ships, small islands, mountainous areas and ...

• Awing-F100J

  Awing-F100J is the latest UAV from Tianjin-based Quadrant Space (Tianjin) Technology and was displayed at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China for the first time ...

• T333

  The T333 is a coaxial dual-rotor UAV. It is an upgrade to the TD220 unmanned helicopter and was displayed for the first time at the ...

• Guided munitions

  FT-9

  The FT-9 is a small guided bomb designed to be used by UAVs. It is part of a family know as FT PGB (Fei-Teng Jing-Que ...

• Awing-F20

  The Awing-F20 is a fixed-wing UAV designed by Quadrant Space (Tianjin) Technology. The platform was displayed at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China, alongside other ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VN2C

  The VN2C 6x6 armoured vehicle was introduced at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2016. Aimed at the export market, it appears to be an updated version ...

• Awing-H100J

  The Awing-H100J is a rotary-wing UAV designed by Quadrant Space (Tianjin) Technology. The Awing-H100J was displayed at the 11th Zhuhai Airshow in China, alongside other ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  FL-2

  The FL-2 is a turbofan-powered multirole MALE UCAV designed to conduct precision strikes against key assets and provide an ISR capability. First displayed at Airshow China ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  MD-22

  The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) unveiled the near-space hypersonic technology testbed MD-22 at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2022. Capable of speeds of Mach 7, the ...