Chinese armed forces test new weaponry during drills in Inner Mongolia

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground force held combat drills and training sessions to test new types of weaponry and combat technology in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in mid-September, the PLA website army.81.cn reported on Wednesday.

During the drills on the Horqin Grassland, armed helicopters used a rocket-propelled bomb to achieve a precise strike, and infantry fighting vehicles hit targets with small missiles. Self-propelled howitzers practiced launching multi-purpose projectiles.

New weaponry has formed a diverse system that incorporates advanced technology following decades of rapid development. The revolution in operational effectiveness has higher requirements for practical use, technical support, and safety management.

September’s training sessions addressed the issue that ground forces are not trained to or lack the confidence to use the new weaponry. Theoretical guidance, video lectures, static presentations, ground drills, and discussion sessions effectively improved the trainees’ understanding and operation of the new weaponry.

“This training helped me sort out how to fight with the new weaponry and how to choose a projectile according to the target. I also learned to adopt different tactics in different situations,” a trainee named Yang Haidong told army.81.cn.

Yang said the most important lesson he learned in the training was a mind-set of “adjusting ammunition to precisely strike the target,” making best use of each shot.

The drills and training are significant for coordinating the military needs and safety concerns of the new weaponry.

Conducted in the form of real combat, the test of new weaponry was a vivid lesson for the trainees to understand its potential, an army equipment expert told army.81.cn.