$Unique_ID{COW00862} $Pretitle{260} $Title{China Appendix C. The People's Liberation Army at a Glance} $Subtitle{} $Author{Roxane D. V. Sismanidis} $Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army} $Subject{copy soviet towed antiaircraft gun gun-type submarines type ballistic divisions} $Date{1989} $Log{} Country: China Book: China, A Country Study Author: Roxane D. V. Sismanidis Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army Date: 1989 Appendix C. The People's Liberation Army at a Glance Ground Forces Strength: 2,110,000 Group armies (main forces) 35 armies, comprising: 118 infantry divisions 13 armored divisions 17 artillery divisions 16 antiaircraft artillery divisions At least 71 independent regiments and 21 independent battalions (artillery, antiaircraft artillery, signal antichemical warfare, reconnaissance, and engineer) Regional forces 73 divisions 140 independent regiments Major weapons systems Armor Type 80 main battle tank-105mm gun, 38 tons, had not yet entered production in 1987 Type 69 main battle tank-105mm gun, 36 tons, improved Type 59 tank Type 59 main battle tank-100mm gun, 36 tons, improved copy of Soviet T-54 tank Type 63 light tank-85mm gun, 18 tons, improved version of Soviet PT-76 amphibious light tank Type 62 light tank-85mm gun, 21 tons, reconnaissance version of Type 59 tank T-34 main battle tank-85mm gun, 32 tons, Soviet manufacture, may be given to regional forces M-1984 armored personnel carrier-6 x 6 wheeled type with 23mm gun M-1974 armored personnel carrier-2 crew, 20 passengers, 12.7mm machine gun, tracked, amphibious M-1967 armored personnel carrier-4 crew, 10 passengers, tracked, amphibious Artillery 152mm gun-Type 83, entered service in 1980s 152mm self-propelled howitzer-Type 83, entered service in 1980s 152mm gun/howitzer-Type 66, towed, copy of Soviet D-20 152mm howitzer-copy of Soviet M-1943 130mm field gun-Type 59-1, towed, same chassis as 122mm gun 122mm gun/howitzer-Type 83, copy of Soviet D-30 122mm gun-Type 60, towed, copy of Soviet D-74 122mm howitzer-Type 54, towed, copy of Soviet M-1938 122mm self-propelled howitzer-Type 54 howitzer mounted on M-1967 armored personnel carrier 85mm antitank gun-Type 55, towed, copy of Soviet D-44 130mm rocket launcher-Type 70, 19-tube, armored-personnel-carrier-mounted 130mm rocket launcher-Type 63, 19-tube, truck-mounted 122mm rocket launcher-Chinese version of Soviet BM-21 107mm rocket launcher-Type 63-1, 12-tube, towed M-1979 antitank minelaying rocket launcher-10 tubes Antiaircraft artillery 100mm antiaircraft gun-Type 59, radar, towed, copy of Soviet KS-19 85mm antiaircraft gun-radar, towed, copy of Soviet KS18 57mm antiaircraft gun-Type 59, radar or optic, towed, copy of Soviet S-60 37mm antiaircraft gun-Type 65, optic, towed, twin-barrel 37mm antiaircraft gun-Type 55, optic, towed, copy of Soviet M-1939 14.5mm antiaircraft machine gun-Type 58, optic, towed, 4-barrel copy of Soviet ZPU-2 14.5mm antiaircraft machine gun-Type 56, optic, towed, twin-barrel copy of Soviet ZPU-4 * * * * * Air Force Strength: 390,000, including 220,000 air defense personnel Combat elements organized in group armies of varying numbers of air divisions Weapons 100 surface-to-air missile sites 16,000 antiaircraft guns Aircraft 30 F-8/Finback fighters (indigenous model derived from Soviet designs) 200 F-7/Fishbed fighters (copy of MiG-21) 3,000 F-6/Farmer fighters (copy of MiG-19) 400 F-5/Fresco fighters (copy of MiG-17) 500 F-4/Fagot (copy of MiG-15) and A-5/Fantan (derived from F-6) ground attack fighters 120 B-6/Badger bombers (copy of Tu-16 intermediate-range bomber) 500 B-5/Beagle bombers (copy of Il-28 medium-range bomber) 550 transports (Y-5, Y-7, Y-8, Il-14, Il-18, Tridents, etc.) 400 helicopters (Z-5/6), Z-9, Alouette, Super Frelon, Bell, Super Puma, and Sikorsky) * * * * * Navy Strength: 350,000 including Coastal Defense Forces, Naval Air Force, and Marine Corps Ships and boats Submarines 2 Xia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) (See Strategic Missile Force) 3 Han-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) 1 Golf-class ballistic missile submarine (SSB) (trials) 90 Romeo-class diesel attack submarines (SS) 20 Whiskey-class diesel attack submarines (SS) 2 Ming-class training submarines (SS) Surface combatants 11 Luda-class destroyers 4 Anshan-class destroyers 20 Jianghu-class frigates 2 Jiangdong-class frigates 4 Chengdu-class frigates 5 Jiangnan-class frigates 14 patrol combatants 181 patrol craft-large and river/coastal 877 fast-attack craft (gun, missile, or torpedo) 33 mine warfare ships 613 amphibious warfare ships and craft 49 support ships Naval Air Force 50 B-6/Badger bombers 130 B-5/Beagle bombers 600 fighters, including F-4, F-5, F-6, and F-7 * * * * * Strategic Missile Force Strength: 100,000 in 6 or 7 divisions Nuclear warheads: estimated between 225 and 300 Missiles 50 Dongfeng-2 (CSS-1) medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) (650nm) 60 Dongfeng-3 (CSS-2) intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) (1,620nm) 4 Dongfeng-4 (CSS-3) limited-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) (3,780nm) 2 Dongfeng-5 (CSS-4) full-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) (8,100nm) Submarines 2 Xia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), each with 12 CSS-NX-4 IRBMs (1,190nm to 1,620nm)