Professional Documents
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The PLA has 18 group armies (corps size), divided among the seven military regions -
Shenyang, Beijing, Lanzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu - and are currently downsizing
some of their divisions into brigades.
The IISS currently attributes the PLA Ground Force with 9 active tank divisions consisting of a
number of armoured brigades. Dennis Blasko wrote in 2000 that the traditional structure of PLA
divisions consisted roughly of three regiments - tuan - of the main arm, each of three battalions plus
support units, a fourth regiment of infantry (in an armoured division) or armour (in an infantry division),
an artillery regiment, an anti-aircraft regiment or battalion, and signals, engineer, reconnaissance, and
chemical defence battalions or companies, plus combat service support units.
A typical PLA armoured brigade has 4 tank battalions (124 main battle tanks)- each tank
battalion has 3 tank companies (30 + 1 tank for the battalion commander), 1 mechanised infantry
battalion (40 armoured personnel carriers), 1 artillery battalion (18 self-propelled howitzers) - 3 batteries
of 6 guns each and 1 anti-aircraft battalion (18 self-propelled howitzers) - 3 batteries of 6 guns each.
There are 8 active artillery divisions consisting of a number of artillery brigades. A typical PLA
artillery brigade has 4 artillery battalions each with 18 guns in 3 batteries and 1 self-propelled anti-tank
gun battalion (18 vehicles).
Infantry Equipment
Pistols
QSZ-92 - newest pistol, 9 mm and 5.8 mm versions
Type 84 - 7.62 mm mini pistol for security and police forces
Type 77 - standard 7.62 mm for People's Armed Police and civil police
Type 67 - 7.62 mm silenced pistol for scout and special operations
Type 64 - 7.62 mm, better performance and reliability over Type 54
Type 54 - 7.62 mm, copy of the Soviet TT1930/1933, currently being phased out
Submachine guns
Rifles
PLA Special Operation Forces (Ground Force) with Type 88 sniper rifles acting as OpFor
Type 03 - The newest rifle using 5.8x42 mm ammo and with a traditional design.
Type 95 - family of 5.8x42 mm bullpup design assault rifle, carbine and squad
machine gun. Factory names are QBZ-95, CAR-95 and QBB-95, respectively.
Type 87 - 5.8 mm assault rifle and squad machine gun, improved version of Type
81, refused by PLA because of outdated layout, technology used in Type 95
Type 81 - 7.62 mm assault rifle and squad machine gun, replaced the Chinese
Type 56 Assault Rifle and Chinese Type 56 Carbine, both copies of the Soviet
AK-47 and Soviet SKS.
Type 88/QBU-88 - 5.8 mm newest sniper rifle
Type 85 - improved version of Type 79, higher rate of fire but shorter range
Type 79 - 7.62 mm sniper rifle, copy of Soviet Dragunov SVD
Machine Gun
The upgraded Chinese Type 96G Main Battle Tank with ERA
Light/Amphibious Tanks
Type 63A - new and redesigned amphibious tank, the only dedicated modern
amphibious tank in the world, 14 km/h water speed, 105 mm gun (several
hundred near Taiwan Strait)
Type 63 - amphibious tank, similar to Russian PT-76
Type 62 - light tank
Type 89/YW 534 - amphibious APC based on Type 85, replacing over 2000 Type
63s
WZ 523 - also known as M1984, design similar to South African Ratel
Type 85/YW 531H - export model amphibious APC
Type 77/Type 77-1/Type 77-2 - improved version of Russian BTR-50 (+200)
Type 63/YW 531C/D/E - also known as K-63, M1967 and M1970
Rocket Artillery
WS-1 and WS-1B - an 8 and 4 tube 320 mm multiple launch rocket system
A-100 - 10 tube 300 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher System
WM-80' and Type 83/WM-40' - 273 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher Systems
Type 85/YW 306 (on a YW 531H) and Type 82 (on a Yanan SX250 6X6 truck) -
30 tube 130 mm multiple rocket launcher replacing the 19 tube 130 mm multiple
rocket launcher of the Type 70 (on a YW 531C) and Type 63 (on a 4X4 truck)
Type 90 (on a Tiema SC2030 6X6 flatbed truck) and Type 89 (tracks) - 40 tube
122 mm multiple launch rocket systems replacing the Type 81 (copy of the soviet
BM-21 Grad)
Gun Artillery
Non-combat vehicles