China, Russia and 40 other countries are showing off new weapons systems at the annual Zhuhai air show. This is an important opportunity for Beijing to show off its latest weapon systems, including planes, drones and missiles, all examples of its military might. It comes after President Xi Jinping was elected to a third term at the ruling Communist Party’s recent convention.
China’s military might matters more in a world in which it – along with Russia, Iran and other countries – believes that the US is declining and a multipolar world is emerging.
According to the Chinese military, the 14th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China 2022, will be held at Zhuhai Airshow Center from November 8-13. A variety of systems will be on display, including from the China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), which are “aimed at diversified requirements of amphibious missions in the future and can serve the Army’s amphibious forces, special operations forces, coastal defense forces and Marine Corps.” Lightweight vehicle-mounted “swarm weapon” systems, which can supposedly conduct precision strikes, will also be displayed.
“The whole family of Rainbow UAVs will also appear at this exhibition and showcase the breakthroughs in technology and application,” a Chinese military website reported. “The Rainbow-4 UAV is equipped with a domestic heavy oil engine, enabling it to fly longer and safer. The Rainbow-5 UAV has improved the loading capacity, which can undertake various specialized tasks in marine operations.”
These types of drones include a number of different ones tailored to high-altitude and stealth missions and have rotor and fixed-wing varieties. The point, once one gets beyond the acronyms and word salad of military jargon, is that China has a lot of new technology and systems that can perform a lot of missions relevant both for countries that buy from it and for Beijing’s own operations in the area.
Fifty types of Chinese Air Force armaments
Fifty “types of Chinese Air Force armaments will be exhibited at the upcoming Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai City, south China’s Guangdong Province, with seven types of the most advanced and ready-for-combat aircraft performing flying displays, according to a Chinese military spokesman on Sunday,” China’s state-run CGTN media reported.
“fifty types of Chinese Air Force armaments will be exhibited at the upcoming Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai City, south China's Guangdong Province, with seven types of the most advanced and ready-for-combat aircraft performing flying displays, according to a Chinese military spokesman on Sunday.”
CGTN media
Among the anticipated aircraft is the J-20 warplane, which was announced in 2011 and was shown off at this air show in 2016 but has undergone modifications. The advanced warplane initially used Russian engines but now uses Chinese ones, the South China Morning Post reported. Other aircraft that will appear at air show include the Z-20 helicopter and the Y-20 heavy-lifter helicopter.
China also says it is showcasing a variety of new counter-drone systems. These matter more than ever as recent wars show what drones can do. Russia has used Iranian drones in Ukraine, and Azerbaijan has shown how drones can be effective in its recent conflicts with Armenia.
State-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), which is the country’s largest missile maker and air-defense developer, according to reports, said its ZR-1500 integrated early warning system would be on display. The system combined portable missiles from the PLA’s active HQ-17AE short-range missile defenses and can detect both planes and drones, CASIC official Wang Wengang told the state-owned Global Times.
CASIC’s air-defense system is a “response to new challenges in modern warfare brought by drones with low-flight altitude, slow flight speed and small radar reflection area,” the Global Times reported.
THE ISSUE here is that China is showcasing how its system can go after drones that fly at low altitudes or fly slowly and may try to evade radar. Beijing isn’t taking any chances in this respect, showing off a system it says can stop “low, slow and small drones,” including those that maneuver quickly. Its prophecy is that new drones may be able to defeat conventional air-defense systems and make the older systems “useless.”
“Generally speaking, most of the anti-air radars work better when detecting [in] higher air space, and due to the disturbance of the low altitude, they are not as effective in the near-ground areas,” the CASIC official said.
The HQ-17AE system incorporates a number of other systems that can apparently “add up like Lego blocks,” meaning that it is modular and has a lot of possibilities. It includes a “special drone-probing system” that can track targets, a “found missile anti-air control system” and a ZR-1500 side vehicle. The system can “carry 12 micro-missiles and four small-scale missiles and two surveillance and strike-integrated patrol missiles by default. And it can also switch to carry other types of weapon systems, such as machine guns, if necessary.”
Russia to showcase modern armaments
Another airborne early-warning system called KJ-500A would be on display as well, Russian News Agency TASS reported. Russia said it was bringing its S-400 Triumf and S-350E Vityaz air-defense systems, along with modern aircraft and helicopters.
“Visitors to the Airshow China 2022 will see the IL-78MK-90A tanker aircraft and the IL-76MD-90A(E) military transport plane,” TASS reported. “Rosoboronexport will also demonstrate the BTR-MDM multi-purpose airborne armored personnel carrier and the BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicle.” Russia’s Rosoboronexport would also showcase the Su-57E fifth-generation fighter, the Su-35 multi-role fighter, the Su-34E fighter-bomber and the MiG-35 multi-role fighter, the report said.
None of the Russian systems appear particularly interesting or groundbreaking. Considering Russia’s role in the Ukraine war, it is unclear if Moscow is able to show anything it has used in that war that has performed well. This is in contrast to the fact that Russia has been one of the leading cheerleaders of the new “multipolar” world and has met often with China in Central Asian meetings, such as the SCO and CICA conferences, designed to showcase a world that is led by Russia, China and other authoritarians.
There are some other drones that may be of interest, including the Wing Loong 3 drone from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, as well as the Soaring Dragon unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), a type of large drone. There are other CASIC missiles for use against ships on display and hypersonic ones.
Loitering munitions, a type of kamikaze drone, are also being displayed, including the 60B system, which looks like the US Switchblade. There are also “mystery” stealth drones that may be unveiled, some of which are supposedly part of a “loyal wingman” program, pairing drones with manned aircraft.
ALL OF this is interesting, but it’s only of particular interest if the drones work and are made operational one day. For years, China has teased a plethora of types of drones, and some of them have been sold abroad. But in many cases, they have not proven as reliable as Western ones, such as the Predator, and it’s unclear if and when China can field a force of UAVs that will outcompete the West.
Russia’s decision to rely on Iranian drones is telling in this respect. That a country such as Moscow had to go to Iran to get drones shows that there aren’t enough of these systems being made by Russia and China, or that it apparently doesn’t want to use its own systems, and Beijing doesn’t want to export the kinds of loitering munitions that Moscow wants.
China has been showcasing advanced military technology for years, including hypersonic weapon systems and drones. With North Korea’s recent missile tests and Iran increasingly relying on China, all of this matters to the Middle East, Asia and the West.
These air shows are an opportunity to see which of the weapon systems that were teased in the past are really rolling off the production line – and whether they work or are merely for display.