A nuclear missile capable of hitting anywhere on Earth was shown at the parade in Beijing.
In Beijing, a large-scale military parade was held in Tiananmen Square in honor of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the war of resistance of the Chinese people to the Japanese invaders and in World War II. What state-of-the-art equipment was shown at the parade, why the Chinese parade battalion is considered the largest in the world and what Donald Trump thinks about it - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenka.
A similar parade is held in China once a decade. Today in Tiananmen Square ("Gate of Heavenly Tranquility") About 40 thousand military personnel and more than 500 units of the latest military equipment passed as part of 45 parade calculations. The air unit, represented by more than a hundred aircraft, completed the parade.
The Chinese authorities invited delegations from 26 countries to the celebrations and the 70-minute military parade.
Immaculate formation
It should be noted that the Chinese parade battalion is currently the largest in the world. At the front, it is 25 people, and in depth - 14. It is very, very difficult to maintain perfect alignment in such a formation when passing through a solemn march. But the soldiers and commanders of the PLA showed such military training at this parade that it is simply impossible not to admire it.
The perfect and monotonous alignment in each of the parade battalions was in ranks, in columns, and diagonally. Everything was just amazingly monotonous - from the turns of the heads of the Chinese soldiers to the chiseled marching step. The PLA female soldiers were particularly impressed with their training.
At the same time, there were no traditions in organizing and holding military parades in China until the very last decades. China has absorbed the best international experience, but there is no blind copying, there is a pronounced national flavor in all issues.
For example, the parade in China is hosted not by the Minister of Defense, but by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Central Military Council of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping.
In our understanding, there are no so-called linear ones at the parade, which mark the intervals between the parade battalions. During the tour of the troops, Xi Jinping does not stop to greet the military, but greets them on the move. And even the supreme's car is not a convertible, but a limousine with a hatch. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China does not deliver the traditional speech in such cases.
After passing through the parade battalions, the thousand-pipe military band does not clear the area for the passage of the mechanized column, but remains in place. The size of the area allows you to do this.
New weapons
China showed off its latest weapons and military equipment at the military parade on Tiananmen Square: anti-ship missiles, combat and reconnaissance drones, ballistic missiles with nuclear charges, hypersonic and anti-drone systems.
A significant part of the Chinese defense industry products has been demonstrated for the first time. Among them are unmanned aerial vehicles operating in conjunction with manned fighter jets, as well as large underwater drones.
For the first time, China's new ZTZ-201 main battle tank (MBT) was demonstrated at the parade. The new armored combat vehicle combines a hybrid propulsion system, AI-controlled targeting and drone protection. ZTZ-201 is a movement towards creating lighter, networked, and versatile platforms.
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| ZTZ-201 tanks during a military parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, China, on September 3, 2025. |
| Source: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters |
The new tank signals a shift to a doctrine that focuses on mobility, active defense, and digital integration rather than armor thickness. The weight of the ZTZ-201 is approximately 35-40 tons, which is significantly less than that of the Chinese third-generation main battle tank ZTZ-99 (54 tons).
The new vehicle is equipped with a new-generation 105mm smoothbore cannon designed to fire advanced ammunition capable of reaching an initial velocity of about 1,700 meters per second. Apparently, the crew of the promising machine consists of three people stationed in the front of the hull, above which a tower is installed that operates in automatic mode. At least 13 optical lidar sensors are integrated into the housing and turret of the ZTZ-201, which provide a 360-degree view.
The parade also featured a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, including the GJ-11 "Sharp Sword" UAV. The radius of its combat use is 1600 km. The total duration of the flight reaches 6 hours. The practical ceiling is 12 thousand meters.
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| The unmanned aerial vehicle GJ-11 "Sharp Sword". |
| Source: Tingshu Wang/Reuters |
To combat aerial targets, the GJ-11 can be armed with four PL-15 guided air-to-air missiles. The range of the PL-15 is 200 km, which allows the "Sharp Sword" to destroy enemy aircraft at a considerable distance.
For strikes against ground targets, the GJ-11 can carry up to four correctable 500-kilogram aerial bombs of the LS-6 or FT-7 types with a laser homing head. Or 12 CM-506KG small-caliber cruise gliding bombs weighing 100 kg each.
The effective reflective surface of the "Sharp Sword" is extremely small and is only 0.009 sq. m.
In addition, the parade featured a whole family of anti-ship missiles adopted by the PLA in recent years. Among them:
- The YJ-15 is a supersonic anti-ship missile with a ramjet engine. Note that "YJ", the traditional name for Chinese anti-ship missiles, translates as "Eagle Strike";
- YJ-17 is an anti-ship ballistic missile with a hypersonic gliding warhead;
- The YJ-19 is an anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile with a ramjet engine.
- The YJ-20 is an anti-ship ballistic missile with a hypersonic maneuvering warhead.
- The YJ-21 is an anti-ship hypersonic missile.
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| The YJ-15 is a supersonic anti-ship missile with a ramjet engine. |
| Source: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters |
Of course, the huge AJX-002 torpedo-shaped unmanned underwater vehicle made a splash in Tiananmen Square. The length of this product reaches 18-20 meters with a diameter of up to 1.5 meters. It is estimated that it can operate for more than 200 hours at speeds over 30 knots.
For the first time, China demonstrated its nuclear triad at this parade - weapons samples for the strategic missile forces, naval and aviation strategic nuclear forces.
In the field of armaments of the strategic missile forces of China, the DF-61 mobile ground-based missile system was shown for the first time. Presumably, the firing range of the new PGRK exceeds 12 thousand km. The missile is equipped with a separable warhead. The number of combat units is up to 12 units. The QUOTA is about 100 m. The upgraded DF-31BJ PGRK also passed through the area.
They also showed the DF-17, a mobile two-stage solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile. It is designed to deliver a controlled hypersonic DF-ZF unit.
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| The DF-5C nuclear missile. |
| Source: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters |
They also demonstrated a new version of the DF-26 ballistic missile, the DF-26D, capable of hitting US air bases and ships at a distance of more than 5,000 km.
The aviation strategic nuclear forces were represented by CJ-20A cruise missiles with a range of 2,500 km, while the naval forces were represented by JL-1 and JL-3 (Giant Wave-3) products and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
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| CJ-20A cruise missiles. |
| Source: Tingshu Wang/Reuters |
The CJ-1000 cruise missile was also demonstrated, about which there is still little data in the public domain.
The PLA pays great attention to the development of anti-aircraft missile systems of all classes. This year, the latest HQ-26 long-range anti-aircraft missile systems and the modern HQ-29 missile defense system were shown at the parade for the first time. In addition, the HQ-19 and HQ-20 were demonstrated.
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| The HQ-29 missile defense system. |
| Source: Tingshu Wang/Reuters |
In the aerial part of the parade, practically all aircraft equipped with the PLA Air Force were shown, including H-6 long-range bombers, J-16D, J-20, J-35A (low radar visibility), J-20S and J-20A fighters, and three types of long-range radar detection and control aircraft. KJ-2000, KJ-500 and KJ-600, Y-20 and Shaanxi Y-9 military transport aircraft, YY-20 tanker aircraft.
What about Donald Trump?
According to the Chinese newspaper Sohu, the US leader is "alarmed like an ant in a hot pot" against the backdrop of the parade in the capital of China. He allegedly plans to hold another military parade in a "luxury version" to "show off his muscles."
The first attempt by the head of the White House was frankly unsuccessful. On June 14 of this year, a military parade was held in Washington, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The parade was attended by more than 6 thousand military personnel who marched in military uniforms from different periods of the history of the United States, as well as about 130 units of military equipment. Let's compare: there are 40,000 fighters in Beijing, seven times less in Washington. It's purely about the scale of the action.
To begin with, it should be noted that in the United States, parades of troops, as a rule, are not held, and by definition the American army could not have any centuries-old traditions in this regard. Although the situation in China is similar, China has creatively reworked other people's experience and brought a lot of national flavor to the ceremony.
But in the United States, such traditions have not been developed, so the event that took place on June 14, 2025 in Washington, resembled anything: a military sports festival, a forum of military historical reenactors, a demonstration of military uniforms, a brass band festival, but not a military parade of the troops of the "Washington garrison."".
A military parade is, first of all, a solemn, colorful and impressive military ritual that should arouse among the citizens of the country a sense of legitimate pride in their armed forces.
But there is no need to talk about any high drill of the parade crews of the US Army on June 14: alignment in ranks, columns and marching steps in the parade companies and battalions of the US Army were absent by definition.
From the point of view of the American public, the parade was certainly a success - there is nothing for US citizens to compare such events inside the country with.
However, according to Sohu, as a result of the military parade held on June 14, 2025, Donald Trump "lost face" - therefore, he wanted to catch up. This time, after the parade of the Ground Forces, it was the turn of the US Navy. Let's see what happens.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
