PLAGF s Xinjiang Military Command operating new 122 mm, 4×4 SPH
11 May 2021
by Gabriel Dominguez & Mark Cazalet
China continues to modernise the equipment and enhance the combat capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force’s (PLAGF’s) Xinjiang Military Command, with state-owned media revealing on 10 May that the command has recently been equipped with new 122 mm, 4×4 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs).
State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) released footage of the new SPH type, which is being referred to in Chinese social media as the PCL-161, taking part in live-fire exercises on a plateau near the Karakoram mountain range at an altitude of more than 4,500 m above sea level.
Norinco s PCL-181 SPH in service with PLAGF s 80th Group Army
11 May 2021
by Gabriel Dominguez & Mark Cazalet
Chinese state-owned media revealed on 7 May that the China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco) 155 mm PCL-181 wheeled self-propelled howitzer (SPH) has entered service with a brigade under the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force’s (PLAGF’s) 80th Group Army.
Footage released by China Central Television (CCTV) showed the SPH being used during day- and night-time live-fire drills at an undisclosed location near the Bohai Sea in China’s northeastern Shandong Province.
A screengrab from footage released by CCTV on 7 May showing several examples of the PCL-181 SPH during a live-fire exercise conducted by a brigade under the PLAGF’s 80th Group Army near the Bohai Sea in China’s northeastern Shandong Province. (CCTV)
PLAGF brigade under Xinjiang Military Command receives new PHL-03 MRLs
10 May 2021
by Gabriel Dominguez & Mark Cazalet
Chinese state-owed media has revealed that an artillery brigade with the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force’s (PLAGF’s) Xinjiang Military Command has received new PHL-03 multiple rocket launchers (MRLs).
A screengrab from CCTV footage released on 8 May showing that 10 new PHL-03 MRLs, along with support vehicles, recently entered service with a unit under the PLAGF’s Xinjiang Military Command. (CCTV)
Broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) released footage on 8 May showing these MRLs, along with support vehicles, being inducted in a ceremony held recently on a plateau at an undisclosed location at an altitude of 5,200 m above sea level.
Chinese Military-Civil Fusion and Section 1260H: Congress Incorporates Defense Contributors
Members of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) walk past the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China. (Photo credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg, https://flic.kr/p/ehevvw; CC by 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
One provision of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 requires the U.S. Department of Defense to publish an annual list of “Chinese military companies” (CMCs). Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo referenced the provision, Section 1260H, during her confirmation process as a way to handle the “substantial challenges China’s military-civil fusion policy poses to U.S. national security.” But while the 2021 NDAA required the list to be published starting on April 15, the report has not yet been released.
Ex-Boss of China’s Major Weapons Firm Norinco Under Investigation
The Chinese regime’s anti-corruption watchdog announced on April 4 that Norinco’s former chairman was placed under investigation over corruption charges.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a notice, stating that Yin Jiaxu, the former party chief and chairman of China North Industries Group Corporation (officially abbreviated as Norinco), was placed under disciplinary review and investigation for alleged corruption.
According to public information, 65-year-old Yin Jiaxu is from Chongqing. In 2010, he was appointed as party secretary and deputy general manager of Norinco. He was promoted to chairman in 2013. He retired in 2016.