What New Combat Forces Will Be Showcased in The September 3rd Military Parade?

According to the arrangements for commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti Fascist War recently released by the State Council Information Office, a high-profile grand military parade will be held on September 3. This parade not only shows the traditional main battle force, but also has the reference of new territory and new quality forces, which makes countrymen look forward to. As introduced by the parade leadership group, "all the equipment reviewed this time are domestically produced active combat equipment. On the basis of showcasing the new generation of traditional weapons and equipment, we have also arranged for some new combat forces such as unmanned intelligence, underwater combat, network electronic attack and defense, hypersonic, etc. to be reviewed, reflecting our military's strong ability to adapt to technological development and the evolution of war forms, and win future wars. This Saturday's in-depth discussion will focus on the development of these four new types of combat forces in our military, as well as relevant international developments.

As a strategic cornerstone and development beacon in the military high-temperature field: Niobium hafnium alloy C103

        At the forefront of military technology pursuing extreme performance, materials are the foundation for the leapfrog development of equipment. Niobium hafnium alloy C103, as a classic high-performance high-temperature alloy, continues to play an important role as the "cornerstone material" in the key field of military industry due to its irreplaceable comprehensive advantages. Its application and prospects are deeply related to the performance boundary of cutting-edge weapons and equipment.

Application field: Core equipment supporting extreme environments

The core value of C103 alloy lies in its excellent high-temperature strength, excellent oxidation resistance, and thermal shock resistance, making it an ideal choice for withstanding extreme thermal environments
      Aerospace power system: This alloy is a key candidate material for the nozzle extension section and combustion chamber of liquid rocket engines, which can directly withstand the erosion of high-temperature gas at thousands of degrees, ensuring reliable structural integrity and propulsion efficiency.
      Hypersonic aircraft: C103 or its composite materials show great potential for application in areas such as the leading edge, inlet, and thermal protection system (TPS) of hypersonic aircraft facing severe aerodynamic heating, and are important material options to address the challenge of thermal barriers.
      Advanced aircraft engines: Despite facing competition from materials such as nickel based superalloys, C103 still has specific application space in certain engine components that require extremely high temperature resistance, such as afterburner components and nozzle control plates.
      Nuclear energy and special fields: C103 alloy also plays an important role in special military scenarios that require extreme heat and radiation resistance, such as space nuclear power systems and high-temperature nuclear reactor components.


Development prospects: Continuous evolution driven by innovation

Faced with higher, faster, and stronger requirements for weapons and equipment in the future form of warfare, the development of C103 alloy closely follows the forefront of material technology:
      Process innovation enhances performance: Additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology has opened up new avenues for manufacturing complex shaped and thin-walled C103 components, and is expected to further improve the comprehensive performance of alloys, such as high-temperature creep strength and toughness, through microstructure optimization.
      Breaking through the limits of coating technology: Developing more efficient and long-lasting high-temperature anti-oxidation coatings and protection systems is the key to breaking through the bottleneck of C103 alloy's application in higher temperature and more severe oxidation environments, which will greatly expand its service window.
     Expanding the boundaries of composite materials: Combining C103 alloy as a matrix or reinforcing phase with ceramic fibers (such as silicon carbide fibers) to develop new metal based composite materials or ceramic based composite materials is an important direction for pursuing ultra-high temperature, lightweight, and high-strength components, especially suitable for hypersonic aircraft and next-generation aerospace power systems.
      Intelligence and precision: Materials genomics engineering, computational materials science, and artificial intelligence assisted design will accelerate the research and development process of new niobium alloys (or new compositions optimized based on C103), achieve precise design and prediction of performance, and shorten the research and development cycle.

Unmanned Intelligence
      In recent years, the most impressive examples of local conflicts have been unmanned intelligent equipment such as drones and unmanned boats. Unmanned intelligent equipment has the characteristics of being difficult to detect, precise, and consumable, and is inexpensive and can be used in large quantities. It has become a highly valued weapon in future wars and an ideal choice for asymmetric warfare.
      In addition, the "robot wolf" that attracted widespread attention at the Zhuhai Airshow belongs to intelligent quadruped robots. They can perform cluster operations like wolves and carry different payloads to cooperate with infantry soldiers in complex terrain. Many netizens have expressed their anticipation to see the presence of the "wolf pack of machines" during this year's "9 · 3" military parade.

Underwater warfare
      It is reported that underwater combat usually refers to military operations that integrate reconnaissance, attack, and defense on underwater battlefields using platforms such as submarines, surface vessels, anti submarine aircraft, and unmanned underwater vehicles. It is an important component of future naval warfare. With the service of the new generation of combat equipment, the underwater combat mode is also undergoing significant changes. In traditional underwater warfare, the main characters are manned submarines, surface ships, anti submarine aircraft, etc. In recent years, with the rapid development of intelligent technology, the deployment speed of unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, unmanned aerial vehicles and other platforms has accelerated. For example, the United States equipped the MQ-9B "Sea Guardian" unmanned aerial vehicle with a sonar buoy deployment system module and successfully completed aerial deployment of anti submarine sensor tests, verifying the aerial anti submarine capability of this type of unmanned aerial vehicle. It can be equipped with synthetic aperture radar, maritime surveillance radar, multispectral aiming system, electronic support pod, sonar buoy receiver, etc. It can monitor and identify surface ships within thousands of square kilometers in real time, with a endurance time of up to 40 hours, far exceeding the endurance time of conventional manned anti submarine platforms of about 10 hours.
      At the same time, China has also made multiple types of equipment publicly available in the field of aviation anti submarine warfare. During the 2024 Zhuhai Air Show, China successively exhibited anti submarine patrol aircraft modified from Y-8 transport planes and multiple types of anti submarine unmanned aerial vehicles. The "Yilong-2" anti submarine unmanned aerial vehicle is equipped with a surround view sea radar, visible light/infrared detection equipment specifically for sea use, and sonar buoy pods. The entire aircraft has also undergone three defense treatments for marine applications, which can cope with harsh weather conditions at sea and adapt to complex search and exploration tasks. The "Yilong-X" comprehensive anti submarine unmanned aerial vehicle has a larger volume and stronger endurance, and can carry wide area radar, sonar buoys, and anti submarine torpedoes to perform a complete set of actions from anti submarine search and detection to positioning and striking. The Rainbow 5 ocean application unmanned aerial vehicle can be equipped with two different sonar buoy pods under its wings, and the belly of the aircraft is equipped with synthetic aperture radar. Combined with the aircraft's long-term endurance, it can continuously track underwater submarines. The Rainbow 9 large unmanned aerial vehicle has a maximum takeoff weight of 5 tons and a maximum idle time of 40 hours. It can also be used as an anti submarine platform to perform detection and tracking tasks for sea or underwater targets.

Network power attack and defense
      Cyber attacks mainly include two major areas: network attacks and electronic attacks. As a key tool in cyber warfare, the technological level and development trend of cyber attack and defense equipment directly affect the outcome of the war. In 2010, Iran was attacked by the "Stuxnet" virus, causing a large number of centrifuges to be damaged, seriously affecting Iran's nuclear program, highlighting that cyber warfare has exceeded the scope of cyberspace and can directly affect the real world. According to experts, some Western countries have been strengthening their cyber warfare capabilities and establishing specialized cyber warfare units. On November 22, 2024, Morgan Adamski, Executive Director of the US Cyber Command, revealed that the US Cyber National Task Force (CNMF) will deploy over 85 "forward hunting" operations in 2024, covering at least 80 networks, surpassing the total number from 2018 to 2023. In this context, it is very necessary for China to strengthen its own cyber warfare capabilities.

Hypersonic speed
      Hypersonic weapons are becoming a cutting-edge field that countries are competing to research. Russia has successively developed the "Dagger" air launched hypersonic missile with a flight speed of 10 Mach, the "Vanguard" hypersonic missile capable of flying at 20 Mach, and the "Zircon" hypersonic cruise missile with a speed of 8 Mach; The US Army's "Dark Eagle" hypersonic missile system, which uses boost glide technology, will enter service as early as this year, and the US Air Force is also developing air breathing hypersonic cruise missiles; Japan's hypersonic missiles will be put into use in 2026.
      In recent years, the Pentagon has repeatedly hyped up China's leading advantage in hypersonic weapons. Previously, China had publicly displayed the "Dongfeng-17" hypersonic missile at the 2019 National Day Parade. It has the characteristics of all-weather, unsupported, and strong breakthrough, and can carry out precise strikes on medium and short-range targets. Western observers speculate that its maximum range exceeds 1800 kilometers. The Pentagon also claimed in the 2024 edition of the "China Military Power Report" that China's new generation of "Dongfeng-27" medium and long-range ballistic missiles may have entered service, which can be equipped with hypersonic warheads, conventional ground combat warheads, anti-ship warheads, or nuclear warheads as needed, with a range of 5000-8000 kilometers.

The continuous development of C103 alloy and its derivative material system is an important material guarantee for the country to maintain competitiveness in strategic deterrence and cutting-edge combat capabilities such as aerospace propulsion, hypersonic technology, and advanced power. Every breakthrough in its performance may directly translate into a leap in the performance indicators of related equipment. With the integration and innovation of materials science, manufacturing processes, and design technologies, this classic high-temperature material will continue to play an indispensable key role in the "heart" and "peak" positions of high-end military equipment, and its development prospects are closely related to the evolution of future warfare forms.