Image source: topwar.ru
Chinese troops conducted regular maneuvers with armored vehicles in mountainous terrain. This time, the transfer of heavy equipment to a given area was practiced for subsequent target practice.
It is noteworthy that the PLA exercises once again boil down to the fact that the equipment moves in columns, being not protected by "front-line" air defense systems. Moreover, this movement is the stage of the exercises, which the Chinese Ministry of Defense itself focuses on in the reports on the maneuvers.
The PLZ-07 122-mm self-propelled howitzers marched in an even column through an open area, with mountains on different sides. The distance when moving the Chinese self-propelled guns was no more than 40-50 m. In front of the column was an armored vehicle acting as a mobile coordination and communications center (headquarters on tracks).
The PLA reported that the exercises were successful, and all the tasks assigned by the command were completed. But it would be strange if, in the complete absence of even a technically designated opponent, they were not carried out. Only if the PLA is going to participate in a real combat conflict using such methods, then it should be warned about the more than likely disappointment. Even in the presence of an enemy with very limited capabilities, the same mountains could be an ideal place to attack, for example, using anti-tank missile systems. Especially in conditions when the equipment going ahead plunges other armored vehicles into clouds of sand and dust. A shot, a hit, a mess with all the consequences.
Image Source: topwar.ru
If we take into account the latest trends in the military sphere, then this column would have been "unwound" in a few minutes by drones that could be launched by the enemy both from the same mountains and from more remote areas.
It turns out that the PLA either does not learn from the lessons of our CBO and wants to have "its own CBO with its own experience," or fundamentally believes that it will do.… And protective visors and body kits are still in the PLA, presumably, they are not quoted at all, as they once were in our country.
