A little thread on the PLA's Xinjiang Military District (MD). Affiliated with the Western Theatre Command (WTC) as this Jamestown image shows. Primary role is likely related to internal security, but also with responsibility for defending against India.
It is thought to actually host more troops than the Tibet MD, around 70k vs 40k according to the Belfer Center. It is presumed that Xinjiang would be one of the first responders to support Tibet in the event of conflict with India because of this, along with the WTC.
ORBAT: Mech Inf Div, Armour regt, 2 x Inf regt, Arty regt, GBAD regt, 3 x Motorized inf divs, Arty bde, "high powered" arty bde, SOF bde, 2 x independent regts, 2 x border def regts. There is also a PLARF formation with DF-21 missiles based near Korla.
Until 2021, Xinjiang was something of a pauper within the PLAGF. It had received no new equipment and was rolling around with Type 88 MBTs and Type 63 APCs. These were supported by mostly towed howitzers, and a ltd stock of SPHs.
Things have changed rapidly since the start of 2021, at @JanesINTEL we have observed a number of deliveries to Xinjiang of modern vehicles and weapon systems. Often these broadcasts are a form of signalling, but they are indicative of what is/will be delivered.
Starting in the air, CCTV footage from Feb showed the Z-20 helicopter on a joint training mission with a Z-8G transport and several Z-10 attack helicopters assigned to the 84th Army Aviation Brigade in Wujiaqu, Xinjiang. janes.com/defence-news/n…
PHL-03 deliveries were reported in May, likely to one of the arty bdes. The footage showed a formation of 10 launchers, each manned by a crew of four, accompanied by four transloaders and four unidentified 4×4 trucks. janes.com/defence-news/n…
May also introduced a 4x4 howitzer, often referred to as the PCL-161, It carries a 122mm gun and could have gone to any of the formations - although the motorized formations would be good candidates. janes.com/defence-news/n…
February was the turn of the 155 mm PCL-181, these are often deployed to artillery brigades to replaced towed guns with a much more mobile wheeled system. janes.com/defence-news/n…
Worth bearing in mind that all of these new artillery systems appear to be networked to some extent through C2 and recce vehicles. They are often accompanied by MALE UAVs and other recce assets, deliveries of which are rarely reported. They represent quite an improvement.
Type 15s were observed in February, around ten appeared to be delivered, with the 6th Armour Regt standing as a good candidate for them. janes.com/defence-news/n…
At the same time, ZBL-09 based medical vehicles were observed, but no ZBL-09s. The end formation for these is unclear. janes.com/defence-news/n…
Finally, this week footage of ZBL-09s in training with units in Xinjiang was released. m.weibo.cn/detail/4636070… janes.com/defence-news/n…
It follows that Xinjiang is either undergoing an enormous modernisation, or token deliveries are being reported to convey the image that Xi's planned modernisation and mechanisation is proceeding according to his goals.
In any case, it provides a potentially useful case study for the pace with which China can modernise its forces. Some sources for you: belfercenter.org/publication/st… jamestown.org/program/snapsh…
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