26 May 2021

New artillery, air-defence assets enter service with China's Xinjiang Military Command

by Samuel Cranny-Evans & Mark Cazalet & Gabriel Dominguez & Riccardo Cociani

China continues to bolster the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force's (PLAGF's) Xinjiang Military Command, with Chinese state media revealing on 25 May that new wheeled artillery and air-defence assets have entered service with a combined arms formation in the region.

A screengrab from footage released by CCTV on 25 May showing that new wheeled artillery and air-defence assets have entered service with a combined arms formation under the PLAGF's Xinjiang Military Command. (CCTV)

Via its Weibo account, broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) released footage of an induction ceremony for about 50 wheeled platforms, broken down into an air-defence formation of 25 vehicles, and an artillery formation of at least 23 vehicles.

The air-defence formation displayed consists of two batteries of HQ-17A short-range air-defence (SHORAD) systems, while the artillery formation comprises an estimated two batteries of PHL-11 122 mm multiple rocket launchers (MRLs). Both formations were shown with their related transporters and transloaders as well as accompanying CSK181 4×4 protected mobility vehicles. These batteries are understood to be the organic artillery and air-defence components of a larger wheeled mechanised formation.

The ceremony for the combined arms formation was held on a plateau – presumably within the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) – at an altitude of more than 4,500 m above sea level, according to CCTV, which also showed the equipment being used during training.

China continues to bolster the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force's (PLAGF's)...

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