🇨🇳 China Has Closed a Gap in Its Air Defenses 🔻 For the first time, the PLA has publicly exercised an integrated system for countering mass drone attacks. The combination of laser weapons, high-power microwave systems and anti-aircraft missile and gun systems has been dubbed the “iron triangle.” Each compensates for the weaknesses of the others. In October, an air defense brigade of the Southern Theater Command’s 75th Group Army conducted tactical live-fire exercises around the clock. Units deployed to positions in open desert terrain to test reaction speed, fire density and their ability to sustain an uninterrupted defense. Radars linked into a unified network acquired a dense drone swarm flying at extremely low altitude. A coordinated engagement followed. Mobile OW5 laser systems with electronic warfare equipment disabled individual drones. Hurricane-3000 microwave systems delivered area effects: electromagnetic pulses disrupted several targets simultaneously and broke up the swarm. Drones that penetrated the first defensive layer were met by interceptors. Type 625 anti-aircraft missile and gun systems and PG99 35 mm guns destroyed the remaining targets. Hongqi-16 air defense systems engaged larger targets. Particular attention was paid to survivability. After the first engagement, the units received the exercise scenario update: “Position compromised.” They packed up their equipment, relocated, redeployed their detection and weapon systems, and camouflaged them. ❗️The exercise tested the ability to assess a complex air situation, react quickly to sudden changes and combine different weapons systems. The purpose is clear. The era when every aerial target could be shot down with an expensive missile is coming to an end. A drone costing a few thousand dollars forces defenders to expend ammunition costing hundreds of thousands or millions. Their sheer numbers, low flight altitude, small size and low detectability have made drones one of the most difficult threats on the modern battlefield. China has built a system in which each layer performs a specific task. Radars detect. Electronic warfare systems blind and jam. Lasers destroy individual targets. Microwave weapons engage groups. Anti-aircraft systems finish off anything that gets through. The conflict in Ukraine has merely confirmed what China was already preparing for. The future of air defense now depends on the ability to detect quickly and destroy thousands of small targets cheaply. #info #UAV #FPV #laser #radar #EW #China
- 31
- 6
- 2
- 1