People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces

The People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces (simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军特种部队; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍特種部隊; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Tèzhǒng Bùduì) are the special forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The size of the Special Operations Forces is estimated to be between 7,000 and 14,000 troops. The forces intended combat role is as rapid-response units in the event of a limited regional war under high-tech conditions. They also carry out commando, counter-terrorism, and intelligence gathering operations.

People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces
中国人民解放军特种部队
An example of PLA Special Operations Forces insignia
Active1988 – Present
Country People's Republic of China
Allegiance Communist Party of China
Branch People's Liberation Army Ground Force
People's Liberation Army Navy
People's Liberation Army Air Force
People's Liberation Army Rocket Force
People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force
People's Armed Police Force
TypeSpecial forces
RoleSpecial operations
Special Reconnaissance
Counter-terrorism
Military intelligence
(Deployable from land, air and sea)
SizeClassified; Analysts believe current size is between 7,000 and 14,000 troops.
EngagementsCounter-piracy operations

The building up of China's special forces represents a shift in the country's operational thinking, from an army-dominated force structure to emphasizing integrated joint operations, with a flexible elite force.

History

The PLA's interest in modern special warfare was first noted in the mid-1980s when it was shifting its military stance from a "people's war" to "fighting a local war under hi-tech conditions." The PLA planners believed that the next war would be a short, fast-paced conflict on the periphery rather than a total war on Chinese territory, and that conventional infantry-orientated ground forces would no longer meet their requirements. Additionally, the PLA's combat experience from the 1979 and 1980s border conflicts with Vietnam, where Vietnamese special forces caused substantial trouble to the Chinese forces, demonstrated the value of special units.

On 23 December 2008, their first publicly known mission was to accompany three Chinese warships in protecting and escorting commercial ships against Somali pirates, in cooperation with other nations as part of a UN mandate.[1]

Special Operations Forces Units
People's Liberation Army Navy Special Operation Forces

The Special Operations Forces of PLA are under administration of different branches. In the PLA Ground Force, each group army has its own special warfare brigade/group(特战旅/特战团). PLAGF Special Warfare units are similar to US 75th Ranger Regiment, they do not have civil affairs and psychological warfare capabilities that US Army Special Operations Command has. Chinese Naval special operations force is a sub-branch of PLA Navy Marine Corps. Units including Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalions/Regiments(海军陆战队两栖侦查营/团) and the Jiaolong Assault Team(or Sea Dragon Commandos, 蛟龙突击队), a unit similar to US Navy SEALs and US Marine Raiders. The PLA Air Force has its own Special Operations Force with airborne capability, which is a part of PLA Air Force's airborne troops, the Leishen (Thundergod) Commando Airborne Force(雷神突击队). The PLA Rocket Force has a Special Forces unit called "Blade Commandos"(利刃突击队), it's specialized in special reconnaissance and facility protection operations. The unit can provide intelligence gathering and special protection capabilities for the Rocket Force. The PLA Strategic Support Force also has special operations capable unit named "Counter-Terrorism Assault Unit"(战略支援部队反恐突击) in case of the facility of PLASSF is under terrorist attack.

The national-level counter-terrorist special operations units of China are 6 special forces units of the paramilitary People's Armed Police. These units are Falcon Commando Unit(猎鹰突击队, formerly called PAP Special Police College or SPC, Special Police of China), Snow Leopard Commando Unit(雪豹突击队 or 武警北京总队第13支队), Mountain Counter-Terror Battalion(山地反恐大队), the Oversea Protection Unit(海外警卫大队) and two Special Warfare Regiments. After the reform and reorganization of the PAP structure, the names of these units might be changed.

  • Beijing Military Region – "Oriental Sword(东方神剑)" is a PLA Ground Force SOF unit. All 3,000 soldiers in this unit can complete all types of operations and are regarded as the elite arm of the country.[2]
  • Beijing Military Region Special Forces Unit – "Arrow(响箭突击队)" is a PLA Ground Force SOF unit. Established in the early 1990s, this unit is equipped with high-tech equipment including unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles (UARVs), individual blast devices and handheld laser dazzling weapons. Every soldier from this unit must be able to run five kilometers bearing heavy equipment in under 25 minutes, complete a 400-meter obstacle course in under one minute and 45 seconds, perform 100 push-ups in a minute, and repeatedly throw grenades more than 50 metres (160 ft).[3]
  • Guangzhou Military Region Special Forces Unit – "South Blade" or "South China Sword"(华南利剑) is a PLA Ground Force SOF unit. This unit was established in 1988 as the PLA's first special reconnaissance group. It was expanded in 2000 to become the first PLA special operations unit to be capable of air-, sea-, and land-operations, similar to U.S. Navy SEALs. Basic training for this unit includes cross-country running, climbing, swimming and shooting. The soldiers must also be familiar with operating 15 advanced technologies including GPS navigation, night vision, and photo reconnaissance.[3]
  • Chengdu Military Region Special Forces Unit – Falcon(西南猎鹰, not to be confused with the Falcon Commando Unit of the PAP, see below) is a PLA Ground Force SOF unit. Established in 1992, this unit is specialized in target locating and indicating, airborne insertion, sabotage and offensive strikes, and emergency evacuation. The unit was also used by Chengdu Military Region to experiment with new advanced concept equipment and tactics, including the digitized army soldier system and high-mobility land weapon platforms.
  • Shenyang Military Region Special Forces Unit – "Siberian Tiger(东北虎)" is a PLA Ground Force SOF unit. This unit is trained to complete missions on the ground and in the air and water, as well as surviving in the wilderness alone or in small groups. The unit is said to place special focus on survival skills; it often breaks protocol by increasing this training by two-thirds, forcing soldiers to spend three to four months in difficult environments such as forests, mountains, deserts and grasslands with no man-made shelter or food. Soldiers in the unit are trained on multiple transport vehicles for roads, railroads, waterways, and in the air. Individual members of the unit have reportedly completed parachute landings more than 5,000 times and logged scuba diving training of more than 1,000 hours.[3]
  • Nanjing Military Region Special Forces Unit – Flying Dragon(飞龙突击队). This is the special land force of east China's Nanjing Military Region.
  • Nanjing Military Region Special Forces Unit – Oscar(奥斯卡).
  • Lanzhou Military Region Special Forces Unit – Night Tiger(夜老虎, also called Special Warfare Brigade of Peng Xuefeng, 雪枫特战旅). This unit has a long history, with its origins dating back to World War II. It is the home of China's first counter-terrorism unit, established in 2000.[3]
  • Jinan Military Region Special Forces Unit – Eagle. Soldiers from this unit are said to focus on training to enhance cardiovascular endurance, including being able to run at least 3,300 meters in under 12 minutes. They also reportedly engage in hand-to-hand combat training and the traditional Chinese health and martial arts practice of Qigong.[3] Soldiers of the Eagle special force can complete sea-air-land operations,[2] in a similar way to the U.S. Navy SEALs.
  • The Southwest China Falcon is a special forces unit in Sichuan. It is also known as Hunting Leopards.[2][4]
  • Leishen (Thundergod) Commando Airborne Force(雷神突击队) is a PLA Air Force SOF unit. It is trained for reconnaissance operations for the PLA's airborne units. It is capable of performing strategic deterrence, combat assault, and task operations under IT-based conditions. Members of this unit recently attended the Golden Owl-2015 International Competition of Special Forces held in Kazakhstan, and won first place.[5][6] Representatives also attended the Russia International Army Games in 2015 where they took first place in the Airborne Platoon competition. Ten teams, from Kazakhstan, Belarus, China, Russia, Indonesia and Singapore, attended the competition.[7]
  • Sea Dragon(蛟龙突击队) or literally translanted as Jiaolong Assault Team is a unit of the People's Liberation Army Navy Marines. Members of this force are equipped with black uniforms. Its first publicly known mission was to accompany three Chinese warships in protecting and escorting commercial ships against Somali pirates in December 2008, in cooperation with other nations as part of a UN mandate. Since then, the unit has participated in anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden for over 300 days.[3] Sea Dragon's Jiaolong Assault Team helped evacuate 225 foreign nationals and almost 600 Chinese citizens from Yemen's southern port of Aden during late March 2015, during the Yemeni Civil War.[8]
  • Mountain Eagle Commando Unit(山鹰突击队) is a police tactical unit of the People's Armed Police, tasked with counter-terrorism, riot control, and other special tasks such as anti-Aircraft hijacking and bomb disposal in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
  • Snow Leopard Commando Unit(雪豹突击队), formerly known as the Snow Wolf Commando Unit (SWCU), is a police tactical unit of the People's Armed Police of tasked with counter-terrorism, riot control, and other special tasks such as anti-hijacking and bomb disposal. The SLCU was tasked with many of the security responsibilities of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.[9]
  • Falcon Commando Unit(猎鹰突击队, formerly called PAP Special Police College or SPC, Special Police of China) is a counter-terror unit of the People's Armed Police. It is the only special forces unit of China that report directly to the Central Military Commission of the CPC. All member of the unit are officers. Falcon Commandos Unit was created in 1982 as No. 722 Special Operations Unit of the Ministry of Public Security(公安部警字第722特种部队) as a police tactical unit, it is the first special operations unit of the Armed Forces of China.

Weapons

Most weapons used by Chinese SOF are made domestically, but there are foreign weapons in the inventory of PLA and PAP Special Operations Forces.

Assault Rifles

Norinco QBZ-95/QBZ-95-1 assault rifle: standard service rifle of the PLA and PAP forces.

Norinco QBZ-95B-1 carbine: the compact version of QBZ-95-1, used by PLAN Marines and PAP Falcon Commandos.

Norinco QBZ-03 assault rifle: conventional layout assault rifle, fires the same 5.8x42mm cartridge of QBZ-95.

Norinco QBZ-56C carbine: compact version of the Type 56 assault rifle (Chinese copy of AK-47/AKM), being phased out.

Norinco CQ Type-A carbine: Chinese copy of M4A1 carbine. Used by PAP personnel in the 2017 Annual Warrior Competition in Amman, Jordan.

QTS-11 individual integrated combat system: an OICW type weapon, used by Jiaolong Assault Team members.

QBZ-191 assault rifle: conventional layout assault rifle, will replace QBZ-95 in the future.

QBS-06: underwater assault rifle, copy of Soviet APS rifle.

Sub-Machine Guns

Jianshe QCW-05/QCQ-05 submachine gun: 5.8mm bullpup personal defence weapon.

Type 85 suppressed SMG: an SMG with integral suppressor, will be replaced by QCW-05.

Norinco Type 79 SMG: 7.62mm sub-machinegun based on AK platform.

Jianshe CS/LS 7 SMG: 9mm sub-machinegun.

Jianshe CS/LS 6 SMG: sub-machinegun with high-capacity drum magazine.

Pistols

QSZ-92

QSZ-92G: improved version of QSZ-92, fires 9x19mm cartridge.

QX-4: multi-caliber modular semi-auto psitol.

Type 05: 9mm revolver.

Precision Rifles

Norinco QBU-88: 5.8mm bullpup designated marksman rifle.

CS/LR 19: Chinese copy of SVD sniper rifle with tactical rail interface system.

QBU-191: designated marksman version of QBZ-191.

CS/LR 4: 7.62x51mm bolt action sniper rifle.

CS/LR 3: 5.8x42mm version of CS/LR 4.

Remington Model 700: used by PAP Falcon Commando Unit.

SIG Sauer SSG 3000 sniper rifle: used by PAP Falcon Commando Unit.

Orsis T-5000 sniper rifle: used by Police Tactical Unit of Beijing.

Norinco QBU-10: 12.7x108mm semi-auto long range scoped rifle with digital controlled aiming device.

Zijiang M99: semi-auto 12.7x108mm long range scoped rifle.

Shotguns

Hawk Type 97-1/97-2: pump action shotgun based on Remingtom 870.

Norinco QSB-09: semi automatic combat shotgun.

Light Support Weapons

Norinco QJB-95/95-1 LSW: light support weapon version of QBZ-95/95-1 rifles.

Norinco QJY-88 GPMG: 5.8mm belt-fed light machine gun.

Norinco CS/LM 8: 5.56x45mm light machine gun, unlisenced copy of FN Minimi.

Grenade Launchers

GLU-16: 35mm "sniper grenade launcher".

QLZ-87: automatic grenade launcher.

QLG-91: 35mm underbarrel grenade launcher for QBZ-95 rifle.

Awards
  • 2009 international military competitions in Slovakia – 8-first places, 6-second places in 13 individual competition events.[10]
  • Third place in the 2010 Sniper World Cup and first place in the 2011 Sniper World Cup.[11]
  • Best overall performance at the fifth and sixth Warrior Competition, organized by the Jordan Armed Forces at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre.[12]
  • Chinese Special Forces took first place at the 2013 fifth International Warrior Competition, organized by the Jordan Armed Forces at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre.
  • Chinese Special Forces took first, second, and fourth place at 2014 Olympics for Elite Warriors.[13]
  • Chinese Thundergod (Leishen) Commando Airborne troops participated in the Golden Owl-2015 International Competition of Special Forces held in Kazakhstan, taking first place.[5][6] They also attended the Russia International Army Games in 2015 where they took first place in the "Airborne Platoon" competition.[7]
  • China's Sky Sword Unit placed first in the ninth edition of the 2017 Annual Warrior Competition in Amman, Jordan.[14] China's Falcon Commando Unit placed third overall in the competition.[14] Thirty-one teams from seventeen nations participated in the competition.
  • China' Snow Leopards team placed second in the tenth edition of the 2018 Annual Warrior Competition in Amman, Jordan.[15]

References
  1. Archived December 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "{title}". Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-10-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. {cite web | url=https://bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com/elite-special-forces/chinese-elite-special-forces/pla-army-special-operations-forces | title=Chinese Special Forces}}
  5. "H OME-CCTVPLUS". 220.181.168.86. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  6. Jianing, Yao. "Chinese airborne troops win glory in int'l special forces competition". english.chinamil.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  7. Jianing, Yao. "Chinese team ranks first in first stage of Airborne Platoon competition". english.chinamil.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  8. "Feature: Chinese naval vessels evacuate hundreds from war-torn Yemen -- China Development Gateway -- Sharing Information, Knowledge and Tools".
  9. "Beijing's Answer to Bond". Beijing Review. 2008-01-17. Archived from the original on 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  10. "Chinese NCO flaunts might in international military competition". Eng.chinamil.com.cn. 2010-02-23. Archived from the original on 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  11. "China dominates Military and Police Sniper World Cup". Chinadaily.com.cn. 2011-05-31. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  12. KASOTC, all4shooters.com / Photos. "Snow Leopard Unit wins 6th Annual Warrior Competition - Pro-zone - Pro-zone - News - all4shooters.com". all4shooters.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  13. Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer,Popular Science,Eastern Arsenal
  14. "Event - Annual Warrior Competition". Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  15. "10th Annual Warrior Competition ~ Results". 2018-05-07. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
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