China is preparing for a high-tech war in the air
Composition and structure of the PLA ground air defense (" The evolution of the Chinese umbrella ", "HBO", 25.03.22) are extremely highly classified. This is especially true of the part of it that is part of the Air Force. Therefore, the data given below are largely approximate.
At the same time, however, it is known exactly how Chinese air defense systems are divided by type between types of aircraft. The PLA Air Force is armed with S-300P and S-400, HQ-2, HQ-12, HQ-22, HQ-9, HQ-64 air defense systems. In the air defense of the ground forces – HQ-16, HQ-7, HQ-17 air defense systems, as well as all ZRPC, ZSU, MANPADS and anti-aircraft artillery.
LARGE AIR DEFENSE
If the Russian Air Defense Forces were organizationally united with the Air Force in the 1990s, then in China they have always been part of the Air Force. For a long time, they consisted exclusively of the HQ-2 air defense system, copied with minor changes from the Soviet S-75. By the beginning of the 2010s, the Air Force had at least 40 HQ-2 divisions in combat, by the end of the 2010s there were a little more than 20 of them. It is difficult to say how many of them there are by now. They are quickly replaced by HQ-9 and HQ-22.
The most powerful air defense is, of course, in the Central Command zone, around Beijing and in the surrounding regions. It includes three divisions and two brigades.
The 4th Division consists of the 2nd regiment (presumably four HQ–12 divisions), the 11th regiment (two S-300PMU divisions, one HQ-9 division), the 12th regiment (four divisions, of which at least two with HQ-9, one or two, possibly with HQ-2).
The 5th Division consists of the 3rd regiment (five divisions, of which at least three with HQ-22, up to two with HQ-2), the 10th regiment (the only one in the Air Force with HQ-7, three or four divisions), the 13th regiment (four divisions with-300PMU1) and, apparently, the 17th regiment with two S-400 divisions.
The 6th Division has the 14th and 16th regiments, five divisions each, until recently - with HQ-2. Both separate brigades are armed with HQ-9 air defense systems: five divisions in the 9th Brigade, six divisions in the 17th Brigade.
The air defense potential of the Eastern Command deployed against Taiwan is significant. The 7th Division consists of three S-300PMU2 divisions. The 3rd Brigade consists of four S–300PMU1 divisions and one HQ-9 division. The 4th Brigade has five S–300PMU2 divisions and, apparently, one HQ-22 division. The 7th Brigade has four HQ–9 divisions, and the 14th Brigade has five HQ-12 divisions. There is also a 7th regiment with two divisions of S-300PMU.
The Northern Command deployed against Russia, Mongolia and Korea has almost the same air defense potential. The 5th Brigade has four S-300PMU2 divisions and possibly one HQ-9 division. The 12th Brigade has five HQ-9 divisions. In the 1st regiment – three divisions of S-300PMU2, in the 5th and 8th regiments – three divisions of HQ-12.
The air defense of the Southern Command deployed against the Southeast Asian countries is equipped only with HQ-12 air defense systems: in the 10th Brigade - five divisions, in the 13th Brigade, 15th and 19th regiments – three divisions each.
In the air defense of the Western Command, deployed against India and Central Asian countries, there are two brigades of five divisions. In the 6th brigade, this is the HQ-9 air defense system, the 11th brigade is the only one equipped with HQ-64.
Another two-division S-400 regiment is deployed either in the Central or Eastern Command.
In total, thus, in the ground air defense of the PLA Air Force there are four S-400 divisions (obviously, eight PU in a division), four S-300PMU divisions, eight S-300PMU1 divisions, 15 S-300PMU2 divisions (four to eight PU in a division), at least 30 HQ-9 divisions (six to nine PU in a division) and the same number of HQ-12 (six PU in a division). The number of HQ-2s can reach 15, but perhaps all or almost all of them have already been replaced by HQ-9 and HQ-22, of which there are at least 13 divisions. Finally, there are three or four divisions (nine PU each) HQ-7 SAM and five divisions of HQ-64 SAM (up to 24 PU).
The production of HQ-9 and HQ-22 air defense systems continues at a significant pace. They are gradually replacing HQ-2 and partially HQ-12. In addition, the production of new air defense systems will allow the deployment of new air defense units.
A kind of addition to the "big air defense" was the Naval ground air defense brigade as part of the Southern Fleet, it is located on Hainan Island. Presumably, it includes one division of the HQ-9B air defense system, the HQ-6A air defense system (with the inclusion of a ZSU based on a marine seven-barreled 30-mm submachine gun) and the FN-6 MANPADS.
ARMY AIR DEFENSE
The air defense of the PLA ground forces has several levels. The highest of them is the level of air defense brigades. One such brigade is included in each of the 13 army groups, they have the same number as their army group (from the 71st to the 83rd).
In addition, there is one brigade each in the Xinjiang (84th) and Tibetan (85th) military districts. Each brigade includes three or four divisions of SAM, a division of MANPADS (FN-6 or QW-1/2) and a division of 35 mm anti-aircraft guns (18 units) Tour 90 (PG-99).
All 15 air defense brigades, without exception, now have at least one division (12 PU) ZRS HQ-16A/V. At the same time, at least in the 72nd and 73rd Brigades of the Eastern Command, the 75th Brigade of the Southern Command and the 79th Brigade of the Northern Command - two divisions of HQ-16A/B. Thus, there are at least 19 divisions of this air defense system in the PLA army air defense today, and its production continues.
The remaining divisions of the SAM (one to three in each brigade) are equipped with HQ-7A /B (nine units in the division), which are gradually being replaced by "Tor-M1" /HQ-17 (12 SAMs in the division).
All 35 Tor-M1 air defense systems received from Russia are apparently part of the 71st, 72nd and 73rd Air Defense Brigades of the Eastern Command, and the 72nd and 73rd Brigades no longer have HQ-7. Their Chinese copies of the HQ-17 are available at least in the 76th Air Defense Brigade of the Western Command and the 82nd Air Defense Brigade of the Northern Command, in these brigades, as in the 71st, apparently there is still one HQ-7A/B division. In the remaining ten air defense brigades, only HQ-7 remain (along, of course, with HQ-16).
In total, the air defense brigades have five to six Tor-M1/HQ-17 divisions and from 14 to 22 HQ-7 divisions. Taking into account the aforementioned 10th Regiment of the 5th Air Defense Division, the PLA Air Force and the air defense brigades of the ground forces have from 150 to 250 HQ-7A/B air defense systems and at least 60 Tor-M1 and HQ-17 air defense systems.
The next level of army air defense was the air defense divisions of combined arms brigades. Of course, they are strongest in heavy brigades and include a SAM battery (three or four HQ-7A/V or 4 HQ-17), three batteries (six cars each) of the Tour 95 and/or Tour 09 ZSU (apparently, as a rule, there are two Tour 95 batteries and one in the division Tour 09, although there may be all three Tour 95 batteries) and a MANPADS battery (12 or 18 or 24 FN-6/QW-1/2). There are a total of 29 heavy brigades in five commands and the Tibetan military. Accordingly, the total number of ZRPC and ZSU exceeds 500 machines.
There are 22 medium brigades. Their air defense divisions also have batteries of four SAMs. Moreover, if the latest HQ-17s are now much more often in service in heavy brigades, then HQ-7s still prevail in medium brigades. However, they are gradually being replaced by HQ-17A, placed on wheeled chassis.
Also in the air defense division of the middle brigade there is a battery of MANPADS. Batteries of anti-aircraft artillery, apparently, there are not three, but only one, and it is equipped not with ZRPK / ZSU, but towed anti-aircraft guns Toure 90.
The air defense division of amphibious brigades of the ground forces (there are six of them) is apparently similar to that of the average brigade. Thus, in total, there are more than 200 HQ-7 and HQ-17 sams in the air defense divisions of combined arms brigades, with the latter gradually displacing the former. In general, the air defense of heavy and medium combined arms brigades of the PLA can be considered the strongest in the world.
As for the air defense divisions of light brigades (there are 20 of them in the PLA) and mountain brigades (there are five of them), they are similar in composition to the division of the medium brigade, but either without a SAM battery or without an anti-aircraft artillery battery.
In general, the number of 35-mm anti-aircraft guns Tour 90 in the ground forces is at least 1.5 thousand units. Obviously there are several thousand anti-aircraft guns of old types. The number of MANPADS is also several thousand units. In addition to the units and formations described above, they are equipped with the third level of military air defense – air defense batteries of heavy and medium combined arms battalions.
Also, it is MANPADS that provide air defense for special forces brigades (there are 17 in total in the PLA), airborne brigades (there are six of them) and, apparently, marine infantry brigades of the PLA Navy (there are also six). In addition, the air defense of coastal defense brigades consists of MANPADS and anti-aircraft artillery (there are ten of them as part of the ground forces).
There are still no combined arms brigades in the Xinjiang Military District, it has four divisions, each of them includes an air defense regiment.
Apparently, each of these regiments has its own individual composition. The most modern is the air defense regiment of the 6th Combined Arms Division, consisting of 18 HQ-17 air defense systems and 24 ZSU Tour 09.
The air defense regiments of the 4th and 8th Combined Arms Divisions are obviously equipped with older equipment, and the 11th Combined Arms Division may not have an air defense regiment at all.
In general, the potential of the PLA military air defense is very great. According to a number of parameters, it is higher than the potential of the army air defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (" Military air defense in the XXI century ", "HVO", 31.05.19). In particular, in the well-foreseeable future, China will have more HQ-17s than we have "Tors" from which these Chinese air defense systems were copied.
And the HQ-16 in the PLA army air defense will be more than our "Buks", to whom this Chinese air defense system is also not completely alien. And the Chinese already have much more ZRPC and ZSU than we do.
With the potential of ground-based air defense of other countries, there is no point in comparing the Chinese one at all. The Chinese have never suffered from nonsense like "fighting terrorism". They are preparing primarily for a high-tech classic war with very strong opponents.
Huge human resources, gigantic industrial potential, rapidly developing science and, most importantly, a well-thought-out state strategy ensure that China takes the leading positions in the world in all spheres. Including, of course, the military.
Alexander Khramchikhin
Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.