All you need to know about deadly, advanced weaponry showcased at China's V-Day military parade
China's military parade on Wednesday, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, saw the country unveiling a wide range of new weaponry, laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles, giant underwater drones, and the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
One of the most-talked-about weapons featured at the event was the giant LY-1 laser weapon, mounted on top of an eight-wheeled HZ-155 armoured truck. The laser weapon is capable of damaging optical sensors of enemy weapons and equipment, and according to Chinese defence analysts, the weapon will change the rules of maritime warfare.
Designed primarily for naval and air defence, the LY-1 is intended to neutralise a wide range of threats, including enemy drones, precision-guided missiles, and other unmanned aerial or sea platforms.
“The LY-1 has sufficient space for power units, meaning that it could have higher power, enabling it to be capable of intercepting not only attacks from unmanned equipment, but also anti-ship missiles, with very low cost for each interception,” a report in Global Times said.
China, for the first time, also displayed a new type of DF-5C liquid-fuelled intercontinental strategic nuclear missiles. The missile has an estimated range of more than 20,000 km, in effect covering the entire globe in its strike range.
According to South China Morning Post, it can carry 10 independently targetable re-entry vehicle warheads, which means it can target 10 different locations simultaneously.
“The DF-5C, although launched from fixed silos, has a longer range and a single warhead yield reaching millions of tonnes, primarily designed to target underground facilities and missile silos,” Military blogger Ma Yan has been quoted as saying.
Besides, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) first air-launched nuclear missile, the JL—significantly smaller than the JL-3 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles—has been unveiled atop a military truck.
Official media says that these two missiles, along with the DF-61 and DF-31, represent the first concentrated display of the PLA's land, sea and air triad strategic nuclear forces, constituting a strategic ace for safeguarding national sovereignty and defending national dignity.
At the parade, China has unveiled its fifth-generation combat planes on active duty for the first time in the grand parade. All five models—the J-20, J-20A, J-20S and J-35A of the PLA Air Force, as well as the PLA Navy's J-35 flew in several arrowhead-shaped groups.
According to China Daily, this is the first time in the world that five models of cutting-edge stealth fighter jets have appeared in one parade.
The J-20S, the world's first and only model of twin-seat stealth jet; the J-20A, an upgraded single-seat variant of the J-20 baseline configuration; and the J-35, the first radar-evading combat plane in the Navy, too made an appearance at the parade.
Defence