China’s military showed off laser weapons, a ‘highly intelligent’ tank, and a host of advanced missiles in a big parade

China unveiled a wide range of new, advanced weapon systems across its military branches on Wednesday, in a display of might targeted at both its local populace and the globe.

The parade, attended by dozens of world leaders aligned with Beijing, commemorated the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II and was the first time such a grand procession had been organized in the last six years.

Many of the new capabilities on display are designed to allow China to project military power far from its shores, as Beijing vies to match US primacy in the Indo-Pacific.

Among the debut weapons were long-range, powerful anti-ship missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, capable of carrying nuclear warheads worldwide. Some glitzy, high-tech systems also appeared in public for the first time.

Importantly, most of these weapons or platforms were not demonstrated and likely haven’t been combat-tested. Very little is confirmed about their true capabilities, with analysts often relying on details from state media or specifications of previous variants.

Here’s a look at the new weapons that China debuted on its Victory Day parade.

Two new laser weapons made their debut

One of the first new systems put on display was the LY-1, which appears to be a laser weapon. Though it was mounted on a truck, state media said it’s meant to be a defense system on aircraft carriers.

Parade narrators for CGTN, China’s English-language state media outlet, said the LY-1 is capable of “precision destruction and consistent strike.”

Beijing also later rolled out a truck-mounted weapon, dubbed a “high-energy” laser by state media, in its anti-drone contingent. The laser is meant to work together with microwave weapons to take down uncrewed aerial threats.

China rolled out a new type of advanced tank that state media called ‘highly intelligent’

Near the front of the pack were also what CGTN called the new-generation Type-100 tank and Type-100 fighting vehicle.

Close-ups of the main battle tank indicate that it’s an improved version of the Type-99, a Chinese third-generation tank based on the Soviet T-72 chassis.

CGTN narrators called the tank “highly intelligent,” saying it could perform “coordinated combat,” but did not elaborate on what that meant.

Notably, the Type-100 appears to have a remotely operated or uncrewed turret mounted above the main gun, while the Type-99 typically requires a human operator for its roof-mounted gun.

China Daily, a state media outlet, later wrote that the Type-100 is a fourth-generation tank with an “unmanned turret, an advanced radar, an active protection system, as well as augmented reality technology.”

Little was said about the Type-100 fighting vehicle, but camera shots of its chassis showed a quadcopter drone sitting atop the rear of its lower-body hull.

Several nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles also debuted

A headliner on Wednesday was the DongFeng-61, believed to be China’s latest ground-based ICBM. The solid-fuel DF-61 is said to be an improvement on the DF-41, a mobile-launched missile that Beijing currently has in service.

The DF-61 is estimated to have a range of 12,000 km, or 7,450 miles.

Additionally, China displayed the DF-31BJ, a new, apparently upgraded version of its older ICBM models. It also showed off the JL-1 and JL-3, its new-generation air-launched and sea-launched ICBMs.

With all of these missiles intended to be nuclear-capable, Wednesday’s reveal covered new entries in all three legs of China’s strategic nuclear triad.

Then came a major highlight — a new variant of China’s liquid-fueled ICBM

China then showed a glimpse of the DF-5C, a new version of its largest ICBM. It’s meant to be launched from a fixed silo with a liquid propellant that is slower to prepare, but is expected to have a range of about 8,000 to 9,300 miles, meaning it can strike anywhere in the continental US.

The DF-5C is also believed to be capable of carrying up to 10 Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, or MIRV, warheads. This capability allows a single ICBM to attack multiple locations simultaneously.

Beijing’s new anti-ship missiles reach far, meaning they were likely designed to fight forces like the US Navy

China also revealed a line-up of anti-ship missiles designed to engage vessels at long range, some at speeds that are incredibly difficult for modern air defense systems to counter.

One of these new platforms, the YJ-20, is a hybrid ballistic missile that is supposed to maneuver at speeds faster than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Very little is publicly known about the YJ-20, which is believed to be a variant of the YJ-21, another hypersonic anti-ship missile.

Another new appearance was the YJ-15, suspected to use ramjets that consume atmospheric oxygen to sustain its flight. The YJ-19, presumed to be a more advanced version of the missile that can fly at hypersonic speeds, also made a showing.

A new type of China’s “Guam Killer” ballistic missile emerged

China has for years developed a ballistic missile called the DF-26, said to be able to strike land targets deep in the Western Pacific. That’s given the missile a nickname of “Guam Killer,” because that capacity would allow it to target US military bases on the island.

The DF-26D, an apparent anti-ship variant of the missile, made its debut on Wednesday.

We also got a closer glimpse at China’s new torpedo-shaped underwater drones

The torpedo-shaped HSU100 and AJX002 were included in China’s drone contingent, meaning that they are likely long-range underwater uncrewed vehicles.

Their appearance has led some analysts to speculate that they could be related to Russia’s Poseidon, a large underwater drone that is said to be nuclear-powered and capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

However, their roles and capabilities remain unclear.

China showed off new air defense missiles aimed at forming an anti-ballistic shield

Beijing also unveiled several types of anti-missile systems on Wednesday. The most significant of these is likely the HongQi-29, a new interceptor aimed at taking down ballistic missiles even while their target is traveling outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

That altitude would also allow the HQ-29 to strike some low-Earth orbit satellites that operate close to Earth’s atmosphere. It’s been compared to the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, though very little public information is available on it.

Also newly featured was the HQ-9C, the latest variant of China’s HQ-9 surface-to-air missile system with an improved radar. This family of systems is widely considered Beijing’s version of the Russian S-300.

Lower-cost robot dogs and uncrewed ground vehicles also featured

In what seems to be China taking a page from the war in Ukraine, its military showcased a range of uncrewed ground vehicles and quadcopters.

Several of the ground drones were equipped with gun turrets and cameras, while others appear to be designed for bomb disposal or mine clearing.

A few trucks also carried quadrupedal machines resembling robot dogs, which have been increasingly featured by Chinese state media in the last two years.

China’s much-hyped mystery J-50 and J-36 aircraft designs were nowhere to be seen

While the People’s Liberation Army Air Force conducted a mass flypast of more than 100 jets and aircraft on Wednesday, it didn’t reveal much in terms of combat airframes.

Some analysts had hoped to see models or even flights of China’s secretive sixth-generation fighter prototypes, such as the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50.

Both aircraft have been captured before in unofficial photos often posted on social media, but were nowhere to be seen during the Victory Day parade.

But Beijing did release what it said were 80,000 doves in an audacious display

As China’s long procession of weapons rolled from view, a parade announcer called for the “peace doves” to be released.

Thousands of birds rushed through Tiananmen Square, soaring over a mass choir waving red flags to end the majestic, highly choreographed display.

Beijing’s official line has long been that while it possesses and is developing new, powerful weapons with a continually extending reach, its military is designed only to defend its territory.

The US, however, says that China’s rapid military growth and Beijing’s intentions for Taiwan risk destabilizing the surrounding region, and has set the PLA as the “pacing challenge” for its military.

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