Cutting Edge Exercises

By LIU FENG’AN

Cutting Edge Exercises

By LIU FENG’AN

On August 24, a fleet of three guided missile destroyers and several missile-carrying speedboats darted into the South China Sea. They were on the way to a military exercise in “attack and anti-attack maritime maneuvering formations and surface ship formations.” The exercise was a component in a military campaign coded “Sword-2010.”

The fleet was followed by a replenishment ship carrying more than 100 offcers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) observing the exercise.

“Sword-2010,” which kicked off in Beijing on August 23, is part of the PLA’s research and training for information warfare. The military exercises could be observed on site or online through video clips. The exercises were participated in by the South China Sea Fleet, the Chengdu Military Area Command air force, a military base of the Second Artillery Corps, Nanjing Military Area Command, and an army group from the Guangzhou Military Area Command.

The exercises include training directed by military division-level commanders and brigade commanders, as well as drills of antiaircraft combat units, motorized infantry divisions, and amphibian mechanized infantry divisions.

“Sword-2010” aims to explore combat training methods and improve the PLA’s combat ability in information warfare.

Missile-carrying speedboats

Guided missile destroyers

Surface-to-air missiles

Surface-to-air missile weapon systems and radar and electronic countermeasures systems

The author is with the People’s Liberation Army General Staff Department.