The People's Liberation Army Army is known as the "No. 1 Army in the World". Although it is a good reputation, it is not exaggerated from the perspective of actual combat traditions. However, as the military modernization process accelerates. In modern warfare, where courage and

The People's Liberation Army Army is known as the "No. 1 Army in the World". Although it is a good reputation, it is not exaggerated from the perspective of actual combat traditions. However, as the military modernization process accelerates. In modern warfare, where courage and equipment can achieve greater effectiveness, it seems that the advanced level of equipment can affect the outcome of the war. Going back to the southeast coast in the mid-1990s, there was once a century-old exercise that was close to actual combat. Let us go and find out and see how different the army equipment back then is from now.

html In the mid-1990s, the army's equipment could be described as shabby. The King of Land Warfare still relied on the Type 59 and Type 69 medium tanks with five pairs of wheels as the core, plus the Type 62 light tank. The more advanced Type 79 and Type 88 main battle tanks have a limited number of equipment, and their performance is only equivalent to the M60 tank on the other side. The more advanced Type 96 and Type 99 are still under development or on the eve of equipment.

The mechanization level of the major military regions is very low, and even the division level has not yet achieved complete mechanization. There are also very few armored vehicles other than main battle tanks. For example, the Type 63 armored transport vehicle, and the Type 86 infantry fighting vehicle , etc. Of course, the special landforms on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the needs of island seizing and landing operations also require the corresponding Type 63 amphibious tanks .

Landing exercise

Landing exercise

The thin-skinned 63 amphibious tank took the lead, and the subsequent Type 59 and Type 69 first-generation medium tanks were the main force in the land battle after the landing. The Type 63 amphibious combat vehicle is my country's first self-developed amphibious combat vehicle. It has a total combat weight of 18.4 tons, a crew of 4, and a maximum road speed of 64 kilometers per hour. It can resist winds and waves in the water to level 3 winds and wave heights of 1.2 meters. It is equipped with an 85mm caliber rifled gun, a 7.62mm parallel machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun .

63 amphibious tank

56 medium tank, a copy of the Soviet T-54 in the 1950s, with a total combat weight of 34 tons, a crew of 4, a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour, and a maximum range of 560 kilometers. Equipped with a 100mm rifled gun, a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun and two 7.62mm machine guns, it has a simple structure and strong reliability. As the backbone of the army's firepower, it has served for decades and is still undergoing magic modification. Although the shape is very different, you can tell whether it is this guy by looking at the five pairs of wheels.

59 medium tank

html In the 2096 large-scale exercise on the southeast coast, the amphibious armored vehicle launched an attack on the "enemy" position, but everyone noticed that there seemed to be something missing in the sky.

Amphibious armored vehicles

In fact, the air force is very important in the cross-sea battle to seize islands. The navy is responsible for sending equipment and personnel ashore, and then the air and ground must be integrated to advance steadily. Especially in a modern battlefield environment, the army's main battle equipment should also have accompanying firepower, such as self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, armed helicopters , etc. During this period, the other side was equipped with quasi-third-generation M48H "Yonghu" tanks, coupled with AH-1W armed helicopters, and M-109 self-propelled artillery, which were obviously superior to our army in terms of equipment quality. At that time, the only field air defense firepower that could accompany the field was the assembled Type 63 automatic anti-aircraft gun with average performance, equipped with dual 37 mm caliber anti-aircraft guns. Not only did it have average performance, but the critical number was small.

63 automatic anti-aircraft gun

The anti-aircraft gun position in the picture below can only be deployed in fixed positions, and in fact it has limited effect on landing operations.

Anti-aircraft artillery position

I accidentally turned to such a photo, and I feel that it is not as effective as individual anti-aircraft missiles in defending against armed helicopters or low-altitude flying targets.

63 type amphibious tank

Look at the exercise photo below. In the 1990s, the air-ground integration was only at this level. The Type 59 type with five pairs of wheels on the ground was used for charge. The Z-9 cover in the air was not even considered as armed helicopters. There were not many Mi-8s and Mi-17s at that time, so they could only rely on the small body of the Z-9 and some rockets for close support. Without obtaining air superiority, in fact, when facing the AH-1W, M48H, and M60 tanks, there is not much certainty of victory.

Air-ground integrated

Other beachhead fire support that can be counted on is that the equipment level is also limited. The navy and air force, the army even mounts cannons on civilian freighters.Then they opened fire across the shore for cover operations, and the Air Force could only pull out the Qiang-5 and H-6 for ground fire support (the JH-7 does not have a large amount of equipment yet). The key is that these models lack modern combat capabilities and are basically used in the air. Mainly bombs. From a comprehensive judgment, it is obvious that high-intensity operations to seize the island cannot be carried out in terms of quality and quantity. No matter how strong the army is, it will not be able to play its role without air support and cannot get close.

Land artillery on ships

The Army, as the big brother among the three armies, has also changed after 24 years of development. Type 96 and 99 main battle tanks have long been equipped in batches. Although the number of Type 59 is also quite large, it has been modified beyond recognition. , in addition to five pairs of wheels, the combat effectiveness is increased by N times. Infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have become a series of complete sets, both in quantity and model, including Type 04 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Type 05 Amphibious Fighting Vehicle, Type 08 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Type 03 Airborne Fighting Vehicle, etc.

htmlType 099 main battle tank

htmlType 005 amphibious combat vehicle

In addition to the main armored vehicles, there are also a large number of field air defense systems , such as HQ-7 air defense missiles, Type 04 25mm artillery integrated air defense system, etc. Of course, there are also a large number of fire suppression forces, such as the PLZ-05 155mm self-propelled howitzer, PHL-03 self-propelled rocket launcher, etc., which can hit accurately and far. These new equipment have been equipped with troops on a large scale, whether it is a head-on battle with main battle tanks, or coordinated operations with infantry fighting vehicles and field air defense systems. Coupled with long-range and strong fire suppression, in fact, as far as land warfare weapons are concerned, there are currently very few equal opponents in the world.

PHL-03 self-propelled rocket launcher

The ground has become a new one, and naturally it cannot fall in the air. The Z-9, Qiang-5, Lao H-6, etc. used to serve as air support firepower, but now they have all been replaced. WZ-19, Z-10 armed helicopters, Z-20 general multi-purpose helicopters, and Mi-17 series helicopters can provide a large number of assault and air cover forces. The more advanced JH-7, J-16H2 fighter-bomber , and the H-6 series addicted to magic modification are no longer the equipment with poor survivability in air bombing.

JH-7 fighter bomber

air-ground three-dimensional strike

html In the two reincarnations of 2024, the military forces on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are constantly ebbing and flowing. It is obvious that in the past, the main equipment of the army could be calculated in units. Nowadays, even if you stretch out two hands, you can't count them. Military strength is constantly growing with the improvement of economic and technological levels. In the past, I was worried that there was no good equipment to use. Now I worry about how to use so many new equipment.