Pre-Parade Images Shows China’s Missiles for Countering US Navy

The coming parade marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945. It is expected to be a headline event for the People’s Liberation Army and China’s leader, Xi Jinping.

“Our overall impression is that this parade will showcase the new lineup of PLA equipment,” wrote Xu. “With emphasis on emerging technologies and trends, precision strike, unmanned warfare capabilities, to meet the needs of a high-tech high-intensity war.”

This image of the parade village appears to show several significant pieces of large uncrewed equipment, such as the GJ-11 and GJ-2 reconnaissance and attack drones in the upper-right corner.

Several vehicles on the left of this image also appear to show ground vehicles mounted with what may be uncrewed surface vehicles, which are essentially sea drones built to fight on water.

This corner of the staging area shows 20 vehicles likely mounted with Beijing’s anti-ship weapons, some of which may be new, Xu said.

“China is expected to reveal several new types of advanced anti-ship missiles of different types,” he wrote.

These include the YJ-15, a ramjet-powered supersonic missile, and another missile that uses a glide boost vehicle to maneuver at hypersonic speeds. Some images appearing to show truck-mounted missiles at parade rehearsals, with markings for designations such as the YJ-15, have emerged on social media.

Business Insider could not independently verify these images.

Expected entries in the display arsenal include the YJ-18C, a stealthy, subsonic missile, and the YJ-21, a hypersonic missile that can be launched from a plane or ship to hit moving vessels.

Photos appearing to show these missiles at rehearsals were also posted on Chinese social media.

With these newer missiles included, China is readying a full arsenal of domestically made weapons for the world to see, Xu said.

“Few countries have developed so many anti-ship missiles that cover all imaginable categories,” he wrote.

The parade would thus likely feature weapons on every rung of the anti-ship missile range: from subsonic missiles with stealth capabilities, such as the YJ-18C, to those that can travel at supersonic speeds, such as the YJ-15, to hypersonic missiles that can maneuver at faster than five or even 10 times the speed of sound, such as the YJ-19.

“These formidable capabilities are obviously an overkill for the Taiwanese navy vessels and are clearly intended to suppress and destroy the surface combatants of the USN and allied forces in the Western Pacific,” Xu wrote.

One potential highlight at the parade is what appears to be a long, underwater drone shaped like a torpedo.

Xu said its appearance is similar to that of Russia’s Poseidon, a nuclear-powered drone that is said to be potentially nuclear-armed. Running on nuclear power extends Poseidon’s range dramatically, and there are fears that it could be used to covertly launch a stealthy nuclear attack on the US western seaboard.

It’s still unclear precisely what this Chinese weapon is, and Xu said it’s not apparent if the drone is nuclear-powered or can be nuclear-armed.

“But it most likely has the ability to conduct long-range maritime-surveillance or strike mission,” he wrote.

Unverified photos that appear to have been taken from the ground show what the munition could look like. A second version, appearing to be covered in a tarp, can also be seen in the satellite image.

Another corner of the staging area appears to show 16 vehicles mounted with tarp-covered munitions.

Xu said these are likely China’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the solid-fuel DongFeng-41. The three-stage rocket has a maximum operational range of roughly 9,300 miles and is reported to be able to deliver multiple warheads at a time.

Some unconfirmed photos posted on social media also appear to show munitions such as the DF-100, a supersonic cruise missile for land attacks, being transported for rehearsals.

China has been ramping up its military activity near Taiwan in recent years, both as a sign of its displeasure with Taipei’s current government and as a show of force.

In April, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted a two-day exercise in the Taiwan Strait that included testing a precision strike, mounting a joint blockade, and asserting operational control of the region. Taiwan and the US criticized the military exercise, calling it irresponsible and provocative.

While US foreign policy is unclear on whether Washington would defend Taiwan from invasion, much of China’s military power is geared toward countering American power in the Indo-Pacific.

In the last 10 years, Beijing has unveiled intermediate-range missiles that it says can reach as far as Guam, which hosts a key US base and is 2,500 miles from China’s shores. The capability has led analysts to regularly refer to such munitions as “Guam Killers.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has outlined China as its “pacing threat” for weapons development and force posture.

By displaying its latest munitions, Xu said, China would be trying to reinforce a message that it has the means to strike US assets in the region.

“In my opinion, the parade sends strong deterrence signals to the Pentagon,” he wrote.

While China’s desired message might be that it can deny the US Navy in the Pacific, weapons displayed in a parade might not necessarily be seen by all as a sign of strength, Benjamin Blandin, a military researcher at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, told Business Insider.

The sheer variety of newer weapons on display indicates that China is pursuing many different projects simultaneously, which Blandin said could call into question whether Beijing can cope with seriously developing all of them.

The US is also working on new, advanced munitions, but at a slower pace. Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, previously the deputy assistant secretary for Air Force acquisition, said in 2022 that China was acquiring new equipment “five to six times” faster than the US.

Blandin added that China may also take time to turn the new munitions into an arsenal ready for war.

“China has made a routine of displaying new capabilities that are years away from large-scale deployment, if not at the prototype stage,” he said.