The People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps () is an airborne

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

under direct command of the

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

(PLAAF). It was reorganized and renamed from the 15th Airborne Corps in May 2017 and now comprises six

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

s and a

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

brigade. The PLAAF Airborne Corps is China's primary strategic airborne unit and part of the newly formed rapid reaction units (RRUs) of the Chinese military which is primarily designated for airborne and special operation missions. Its role is similar to that of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

and

Russian Airborne Forces The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

. Only one of the PLAAF Airborne Corps' former three divisions (or just 2 to 3 of the current 7 brigades that form the corps) can deploy to any part of China within 48 hours due to limited airlift capabilities. In the late 1990s the airlift capability of the PLAAF consisted of 10 IL-76 heavy lift, Yu-8, and Yu-7 transports, as well as

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...

, Mi-8, Z-8, and Z-9 helicopters. As such, the PLAAF could only lift one division or two to three brigades of 11,000 men complemented with light tanks, mortars, and self-propelled artillery. In 1988, there were reports claiming that a 10,000 man airborne division was transported to Tibet in less than 48 hours.

History

The PLAAF Airborne Corps traces its lineage to the 9th Column, created in August 1947, as part of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henen Field Army under

Liu Bocheng Liu Bocheng (; December 4, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was a Chinese military commander and Marshal of the People's Liberation Army. Liu is known as the 'half' of the "Three and A Half" Strategists of China in modern history. (The other th ...

and

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

. The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henen Field Army was renamed the Central Plains Field Army on May 9, 1948. The 9th Column became the 15th Corps when the Central China Field Army was redesignated as the

Second Field Army The Second Field Army (第二野战军), initially known as the Central Plains Field Army (中原野战军) or the Liu-Deng Army, was a major military formation of the Chinese Communist Party during the last stages of the Chinese Civil War. The ...

in February 1949. The unit participated in the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

and afterwards it carried out anti-bandit operations in southern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

before being deployed in Korea in February 1951.. As part of the 3rd Army Group, it took part in the Chinese Fifth Phase Offensive in April 1951.. The 15th Corps received elite status in recognition of its actions at the

Battle of Triangle Hill The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign (),Chinese sources often mistranslates Shangganling Campaign as the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. was a protracted military engagement during the Korean ...

.. On September 16, 1950, the PLAAF formed its first field unit, the 1st PLAAF Marine Brigade by recruiting six thousand battle hardened soldiers across the 40 Corps of the PLA. The brigade was headquartered in

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

Province. Thereafter, the unit's designation changed several times, becoming the Air Force Marine 1st Division, the Parachute Division of the Air Force, then the Airborne Division. In May 1961, the Military Commission merged two of the three infantry divisions of the 15th Corps, the 44th and 45th, with the PLAAF's existing airborne division, to create the PLAAF 15th Airborne Corps. All paratrooper units of the Chinese armed forces are under the PLAAF command. In the 1960s when the commander-in-chief of the PLAAF, General

Liu Yalou Liu Yalou (; April 1910 – 7 May 1965) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army who served as the inaugural commander-in-chief of the PLA Air Force During the Chinese Civil War, he was chief of staff of Lin Biao's army group, whi ...

, was tasked to create an airborne corps, he was given a short list of the most elite units of the PLA, including the 38th and the 15th corps. He chose the 15th Corps for its performance at the Battle of Triangle Hill. During the restructuring of the PLA in 1985, the 15th Airborne Corps was reduced to three brigades. In the 1990s, the PLA's concept of People's War was replaced by the Limited High-Intensity War concept. This in turn resulted in a return to a corps size structure of three divisions with an overall increase of 25% in the 15th Corps' strength. As of 1985, most of the soldiers in the 15th Corps were ordinary paratroopers trained for general supporting duties in a combined army campaign. Only 17 percent of them were specialized paratroopers. However, this percentage has now risen to 43 percent and ordinary paratroopers have dropped from 53 percent to 23 percent. The purpose of this increase in the percentage of specialized paratroopers was to make the 15th Airborne Corps into a combined arms force rather than just a mobile infantry force. Thus making it more capable of conducting independent operations in a limited but highly technological focused conflict. In May 1989, the 15th Airborne Corps’ 43rd and 44th Paratrooper Brigades were deployed to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

to enforce martial law and suppress the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

.Based on Wu Renhua's study. (Chines
Wu Renhua, "进京的戒严部队和进京路线" 《1989天安门事件二十周年祭》系列之十二
Accessed 2013-06-29 The 15th Airborne Corps was renamed the People’s Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps in April 2017. It consists of 9 brigades at present, reorganized from its former three divisions and other supporting units. File:PLA Paratroopers in 1955.jpg, The People's Liberation Army paratroopers in 1955. File:A PLA paratrooper captain using radio.jpg, Airborne captain operating a radio, 1955. File:China 10th Anniversary Parade in Beijing 04.jpg, PRC paratroopers on parade for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, 1959.

Current

According to You Ji's "The Armed forces of China", the PLAAF Airborne Corps has been elevated to the status of a strategic force. It is a departure from the PLA traditional airborne force concept. Doctrinal modernization change allows the PLAAF Airborne Corps to act as a principal force employed for independent campaign missions in future wars. It is now accepted that the airborne troops should be used for pre-emptive attack on the enemy's key military targets in the rear area in order to paralyze or disrupt its preparation for an offensive. This kind of large-scale mission cannot be conducted without having a total control in the air. Also, a single-lift capability of 50,000 men is required for this type of missions. Currently, the PLAAF can only lift one division of 11,000 men with light tanks and self-propelled artillery. In 2006 Dennis Blasko wrote that the PLAAF Airborne Corps headquarters is in

Xiaogan Xiaogan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hubei province, People's Republic of China, some northwest of the provincial capital of Wuhan. According to the 2020 census, its population totaled 4,270,371, of whom 988,479 lived in the buil ...

, north of Wuhan in Hubei. The airborne divisions were located as follows: the 43rd Division stationed in

, Henan (127th and 128th Airborne Infantry and 129th Airborne Artillery Regiments), and the 44th and 45th Divisions also in the Wuhan area at

Guangshui Guangshui () is a city located in northeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, near the border with Henan province. Administratively, it is a county-level city of Suizhou City. Guangshui was known as Yingshan County () before December ...

and

Huangpi Huangpi District () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China, situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River. The Sheshui enters the Yangtze at Huangpi. The district is pr ...

. More and more focus will be placed on helicopter assaults as opposed to traditional parachute drops. In times of war, the PLAAF Airborne Corps can also utilize strategic airlifters and transport aircraft such as

Xi'an Y-20 The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng () is a large military transport aircraft developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation for the People's Republic of China (PRC). The aircraft is nicknamed "Chubby Girl" () in the Chinese aviation industry becaus ...

, Shaanxi Y-9,

Shaanxi Y-8 The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 () aircraft is a medium size medium range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become one of China's most popular military and civilian tran ...

, Xian Y-7, and very large numbers of Y-5 (700+) utility transports. During a number of exercises, the PLAAF Airborne Corps has demonstrated it can move a regiment plus of paratroopers with light armored vehicles to anywhere within China in less than 24 hours. These exercises also show that a large number of para-gliders are in use. The PLAAF Airborne Corps' weapons inventory includes 50-100 ZBD-03 derivatives and 2S9 self-propelled mortars, large numbers of BJ212 jeeps with 105mm recoilless rifles or HJ-11 ATGM, and Type 89 120 mm SP anti-tank guns. The last two weapon platforms are air transportable. Additional weapons include Type 84 82mm mortars, Type 85 60mm light mortars, Type 85 107 mm MRL, and more. In 1997, a new lightweight high-mobility vehicle entered service. Reportedly, up to ten of these vehicles can be carried by a Y-7H military transport. Paratroopers are outfitted with portable GPS systems,

night-vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

, radios and other high-tech equipment. In recent years, we've seen more and more mainstream as well as specialized equipment designed with air-dropped deployment in mind. This affords the troops with greater mobility, versatility and protection so that they may quickly adapt to the battlefield environment with new tactics, multidimensional engagement capability while increasing their situation awareness. Previously, airborne troopers all carry more or less the same standard issued equipment during deployment. After the most recent restructuring efforts, they are now trained to carry a vast number of varying weapons and field equipment during deployment, they may now customize their load-out specific to their responsibility in the integral unit so that when they arrived at their designated position they will have everything at their disposal to meet all sorts of battlefield requirements to gain a tactical advantage. There will also be more heavier armored units making use of recently inducted Type-15 light tanks, PCL-181 wheeled vehicle-mounted 155mm howitzers and new generation airborne armored vehicles in future deployments to increase the mechanization and informatization of future era operations. The Airborne Divisions have various special units, including weapons controllers, reconnaissance, infantry, artillery, communications, engineering, chemical defense, and transportation soldiers. Today, the Airborne Brigades which are further divided into battalions and companies or batteries.

International Army Games

In 2015, Chinese paratroopers took first place in the

International Army Games The International Army Games is an annual international military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of compet ...

which took place in Russia. In 2016, Chinese paratroopers came in third place in the International Army Games which took place in Russia. In 2017, a Chinese paratrooper team placed first in the Airborne Platoon contest at the International Army Games-2017. The Chinese airborne troops won first place in 11 out of 12 events. Russia was second and Kazakhstan, third, the media were told at the contest’s press-center. The Chinese team scored 62 points while the Russian team scored 50 points. The Kazakhstan team scored 42 points. In 2018 a Chinese paratrooper team placed second in the Airborne Platoon contest at the 2018 International Army Games

References

Citations

Sources