China Armed Forces No.25,Vol.1,2014

    By Jiang Long, Cen Zhuojun, Zhao Dahan and Zhao Qihong

    A bleak winter; a bitter wind.

    Shortly after 8 a.m., a number of large transport aircraft came roaring from the south. A massive fighting vehicle burst from the belly of the aircraft and plummeted swiftly, then four massive parachutes unfolded and slowed its fall. Seconds later, hundreds of armed paratroopers jumped from the aircraft and parachutes shrouded the sky.

    On landing, the paratroopers quickly located the vehicle with their search system. They started it up and swooped on the “enemy” under the cover of strong electromagnetic interference and low-flying armed helicopters. Almost 100 targets were destroyed in 20 minutes.

    It was another long-distance precision strike by Chinese paratroopers.

    In the past, airborne troops were generally regarded as infantry with parachutes. Today, with new weapons, including the armed helicopters and paratrooper combat vehicles, and breakthroughs in airdrop techniques, the firepower and remote strike capabilities of the paratroopers have improved significantly. The airborne army group comprises more than 20 professional arms, including artillery, aviation corps, missile corps, scouts, chemical defense, engineering corps, electronic warfare and communications. A strategic force with multiple arms that can deploy quickly and carry out remote strikes with heavy loads has arisen quietly.

    Airborne operations are no longer limited in areas behind enemy lines and no longer confined to sabotage. Operations are not restricted to a certain stage of battle or a certain area, but encompass the whole process region-wide. This requires new airborne combat capabilities.

    To this end, the airborne force is promoting the reform of training in six aspects that include collaboration and organization, equipment configurations and heavy equipment drops. The army is accelerating training in advanced airdrop methods, such as using one aircraft in multiple drop points, continuous airdrops of various items of equipment, remote airdrops, and simultaneous airdrops of personnel and equipment. It has been constantly improving long-range precision delivery capabilities.

    The army has reorganized airborne personnel, who now train with many types of parachutes and aircraft and in different weathers and terrains. It aims to raise their capabilities to successfully wage war in all-weather and all-terrain conditions.