China says National Day military parade ‘won’t disappoint’ in scale or advanced weapons
- President Xi Jinping will inspect 15,000 troops, more than 160 aircraft and 580 active weapon systems during the event on October 1
- Strategic nuclear missile systems – including the DF-41 ICBM – will appear at the end, according to insider
Although it will not feature the largest number of soldiers to have taken part in a National Day parade, officials at the briefing said the event “would not disappoint” in terms of either scale or advanced weapons on display.
Major General Tan Min said all of the advanced weapon systems in the parade would be Chinese-made, but he declined to say whether the cutting-edge DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile would be included.
Seventy years ago, there was also a grand military parade in Beijing when then-chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China. More than 19,000 People’s Liberation Army soldiers took part, but the military hardware on show was limited – there were 17 aircraft in the flyover and nine of them appeared twice to make the air force look bigger.
According to Cai, of the 59 units taking part, 47 are squads on the ground and about a dozen are airborne squadrons, each led by two senior commanders with the rank of general.
“This year will see the biggest number of generals taking part in the National Day parade in history,” Cai said.
He added that a unit of female soldiers in the parade would be led by two women generals – also an unprecedented arrangement for the PLA.
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A military insider, meanwhile, said the PLA Rocket Force’s strategic nuclear missile systems – including the DF-41, DF-31AG, DF-26 and DF-17 – would appear at the end of the parade.
“Of the missile systems, the DF-41 ICBM will be the final one in the last weapons unit, because it is the most powerful weapons system in the parade,” said the insider, who requested anonymity.
The insider said General Yi Xiaoguang, who heads the Central Theatre Command, had been named commander-in-chief of the parade because the event had largely been organised by the Beijing-based military command.
“The parade – which aims to showcase President Xi’s achievements in military modernisation and reforms in terms of both hardware and software – will carry a lot of political meaning,” the insider said.
The parade is also expected to include the air force’s first stealth fighter, the J-20, its main active warplanes such as the J-16 fighter bombers, the J-10 and J-11B fighter jets and Xian H-6 strategic bombers, and armed helicopters like the Z-20, according to photos from three recent rehearsals.
During the briefing, Cai also said the parade aimed to promote the PLA’s Red Army legends and Xi’s military achievements since he took the helm in late 2012.
“The parade also aims to emphasise the political importance of listening to the party’s command … as well as maintaining … unyielding loyalty to core leader President Xi,” Cai said.
Wu Qian, a spokesman for the defence ministry, said 188 military attaches from 97 foreign countries had been invited to the event, but no foreign military leaders would attend.
