According to Business Insider, the report published last week contains the truth that will surprise US policymakers and defense officials: China currently has the world's largest navy, expanding its arsenal of advanced and massive missiles.
The report said that China has "united resources, technology and political will over the past two decades to consolidate and modernize the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in all aspects," adding, "China has been ahead of the US in certain areas".
This point is clearly shown in 6 maps showing the scale of the PLA forces and the range of the missile.
Chinese Army (PLAA)
The first map shows the positions of the platoon force commander. There are 5 platoon commands: Northern, Central, Eastern, Southern and Western. In addition, there are 2 more military commands in remote provinces of China, Xinjiang and Tibet.
The report affirmed that PLAA is the largest permanent force in the world, with 915,000 soldiers serving in 13 groups, one of which has the same size as the US Army - 20,000 to 45,000 soldiers.
Each company consists of 78 combined armed brigades, each Brigade can have up to 5,000 soldiers.
Brigades are organized into 3 types: heavy (tanker and chain-wheeled steel vehicles), medium (tire-wheeled steel vehicles) and light (phiphics, transport truc tuyen, and motor vehicles).
Interestingly, the map includes the platoon dance club, which is actually part of the Chinese Air Force. The army is made up of six mixed-use armed air Brigades, at least one of which is mechanised by the ZBD-03 armored infantry fighting vehicle.
Chinese Navy (PLAN)
The map shows the structure of all fleets, with the Eastern and Southern fleets having the most ships. The Chinese Navy also includes six marine brigades and a small but growing air force.
Chinese Air Force (PLAAF)
According to the report, the Chinese Air Force, combined with the Chinese Navy's Air Force, is the largest air force in the region and the third largest in the world.
"PLAAF is rapidly catching up with Western air forces with various capabilities and capabilities," the report noted.
More than 800 of China's 1,500 fighter jets are considered the fourth generation, on par with Western fighter jets. PLAAF also has a currently on-duty stealth fighter and a developing stealth bomber.
In October last year, China launched the H-6N bomber, the country's first nuclear bomber capable of handling aerial fuel. This marks the return of China's aerial nuclear triad.
With the development of an unlikely above-range nuclear ballistic missile underway, for the first time, China could soon have a complete and feasible nuclear triad.
Most of China's air bases are in the south and east of the country.
Chinese missiles firing
Three Pentagon maps show the destructive capability of the weapon as being the most important of PLA: ballistic missile and cruise missile. China has one of the world's largest and most diverse missile arsenal.
According to the report, the range of most of China's conventional missiles is more than 2,000 km.
Particularly worrying are the DF-26 and DF-21. Both are mobile medium-range ballistic missiles launched from the ground. The DF-26, which can carry nuclear warheads and is commonly known as the " Guam island assassin" for its ability to access US bases in Guam.
PLAAF's H-6J bomber, capable of carrying 6 YJ-12 anti-ship missiles.
Meanwhile, China's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) can reach a range of 1,750 km to 13,000 km. Of these, the DF-5 and DF-41 are particularly worrying, both of which can cover almost the entire continental United States. The DF-41, first announced last October, can carry 10 warheads, each capable of hitting different targets.
China is increasing investment in missile technology. The Pentagon report said that in 2019, the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF) "launched more ballistic missiles for testing and training than the rest of the world combined."
However, the report said that there are still important differences in the quality and capability of China's military and weapons compared to the US.
The US military has more combat experience than PLA, as well as powerful equipment such as specialized aircraft carrier combat groups, according to the report.
placement also faces challenges, such as the difficulty in producing high-quality engines.
