PLA Small arms

Leakage said:

" NK asked Russia for a chance to get combat experience and Russia obliged them "

That is not what happened at all, North Korea gifted combat troops on behalf of improving the relations between North Korea and Russia. Putin gladly accepted non combat ready soldiers to enter the frontline who reportedly performed the same as Russians.

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Your statement doesn't refute mine at all. It is NK that reached out to Russia, not the other way around. And NK troops performing as well as Russia just confirms the fact that NK troops are just a drop in the bucket and make no substantive impact at all.

FriedRiceNSpice said:

No serious military analyst would rate Russia as second best. At best, a very distant third. NK asked Russia for a chance to get combat experience and Russia obliged them, the NK troops are but a drop in the bucket. Despite all the issues and problems with the Russian military, it is the Ukranians that are losing and struggling much more. What good would leaving it to the Europeans do?

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FriedRiceNSpice said:

Your statement doesn't refute mine at all. It is NK that reached out to Russia, not the other way around. And NK troops performing as well as Russia just confirms my remark they the NK troops are just a drop in the bucket and make no substantive impact at all.

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Not at all, Putin reached out to Kim Jong Un, he didn't ask for Soldiers but obviously he knew that Kim Jong Un would give him some. Not to mention it only made it worse why would he accept such a proposal if it's gonna end up screwing over the Russians.

I will also Mention that the IDF trained by US Special forces was also ranked by US as one of the best armies out there, Yet they are being completely destroyed by a Rebellious Group filled with untrained people outdone by Hamas in close combat and long range combat which is just pathetic.

Leakage said:

Not at all, Putin reached out to Kim Jong Un, he didn't ask for Soldiers but obviously he knew that Kim Jong Un would give him some. Not to mention it only made it worse why would he accept such a proposal if it's gonna end up screwing over the Russians.

I will also Mention that the IDF trained by US Special forces was also ranked by US as one of the best armies out there, Yet they are being completely destroyed by a Rebellious Group filled with untrained people outdone by Hamas in close combat and long range combat which is just pathetic.

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If you want to discuss the Ukraine War there is a thread for it.

As for the IDF's difficulties, combatting non-state actors in asymmetric warfare is a difficult task for any conventional military. If you believe that there is any military in the world that wouldn't struggle with doing so, please feel free to name them.

Aniah said:

I thought this practice was to train soldiers to be able to hold their aim for longer periods of time without their arms getting tired. Just aiming with an AR for a while can get tiring, so I believe this is to help train the arm stamina rather than aiming accuracy.

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You can say it's carry-over habit from the days when PLA suffers scarcity issues, especially munitions.

Scientific approach would consist of:

1. proper weight training to tone the muscles;
2. proper diet to ensure soldiers gets the necessary nutrition;
3. regimented exercise scheme to build endurance;
4. more shooting practice to horn marksmanship...

LawLeadsToPeace said:

I am really curious about how they view those conflicts. It seems that they just follow trends rather than anticipate them or even just understand them. To be fair, the US does the same, and that is why everyone, for the lack of a better term, shits on their generals.

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I think it is quite a difficult task to anticipate and understand. We do see some anticipation, all the smartphones/tablets and digital gear. They are using SMS through Beidou. Those things are here to stay.

If someone joined a Western military in the late 90's, early 00's, you basically did basic training still in the WWII style, clearing trenches, fire team movement, etc. Then five years in, you were doing kill houses, IED identification, etc. After ten years of that, it moves back to the older stuff, was that decade a huge waste of time?

In some ways, yes, a lot of those lessons were applicable only to that war being fought at that time. However, at the same time you have to train for the war you are fighting, not the next one...

The PLA has the luxury of not fighting any wars for a long time, but too many priorities related to modernization. Obviously infantry is lower on that list.

One thing that better infantry does is it shows to other countries, when you are participating in multinational exercises, that you are a professional army. When the PLA shows up with worse gear than thailand, for example, it's not exactly a good look for the worlds's no. 2, soon to be no. 1 military. In any other case, infantry might not be high on the priority list for AR, but it's the number 1 tool for holding ground. No matter how good your air force or navy is, ultimately you will have to go in by foot and clear out houses to actually take territory and defend against insurgency. For that reason, infantry should be placed way higher on the priority list and at least be trained, equipped, and provided quality logistics up to perhaps a 2010s US standard, think a 052D or J-20 moment, but for the infantry. It's not looking good that the previous infantry equipment upgrade program was cancelled and now apparently infantry equipment is regressing back to pre-2019 equipment levels (bare helmets with new camo being seen more and more for example)

polati said:

One thing that better infantry does is it shows to other countries, when you are participating in multinational exercises, that you are a professional army. When the PLA shows up with worse gear than thailand, for example, it's not exactly a good look for the worlds's no. 2, soon to be no. 1 military. In any other case, infantry might not be high on the priority list for AR, but it's the number 1 tool for holding ground. No matter how good your air force or navy is, ultimately you will have to go in by foot and clear out houses to actually take territory and defend against insurgency. For that reason, infantry should be placed way higher on the priority list and at least be trained, equipped, and provided quality logistics up to perhaps a 2010s US standard, think a 052D or J-20 moment, but for the infantry. It's not looking good that the previous infantry equipment upgrade program was cancelled and now apparently infantry equipment is regressing back to pre-2019 equipment levels (bare helmets with new camo being seen more and more for example)

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Yeah ... nah

I've been involved in a few Bilateral EX. A lot of tier II militaries, especially in South East Asia, specifically gear up the units involved in the BI-EX. Either that or the unit participating is a higher echelon/elite unit with better TO&E to start with. Their GI units could be using ALICE gear from the 70s for all you know (and up until 2010ish were still using steel pots and ALICE web from my personal observation).

My one big take away though - how much go-fast kit you are kitted out in has no relevance to how "professional" your infantry units are. Unit preparedness, motivation, discipline and outright ability to execute out in the field transcends your Gucci kit levels. Stretched example - a sloppily flown F-35 is gonna get shot down by a well drilled J-10/PL-15/KJ-500 combo all day, every day.

Bottom line. A military has a finite budget and multiple and different threats and priorities. A sane military allocates spending based on needs, not optics. If the CONOPS dictates a war of drones and directed fire, then my priority is for them to have the latest in digital, encrypted comms. Everything else, even the rifle, is secondary - go faster helmets and latest multi-cam do nothing other than score some pride points. YMMV if you instead anticipate LIC-COIN policing actions.

Go beyond the superficial and look at how needs vs wants drive these things.

Blank firing adapters for QCQ-171.

Airburst Man-Portable Rocket Launcher

I forgot whether these have been posted before. Here goes nothing.

A look into the structures of W85 HMG. Interesting bit starts from 08:50.


Introduction & assembly of Type 89 HMG by THE PLAGF Master Sergeant First Class who was responsible for its acceptance test in 1994. Assembly bit starts from 17:06.