The "9.3" Military Parade: Exploring the Shandong Equipment Manufacturing Forces Behind the Iron Armored Heroes

The pointer of history is once again frozen on September 3rd - a day that carries national memory and the glory of peace. All members of the Secretariat of Shandong Equipment Manufacturing Industry Association gathered to watch the live broadcast of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti Fascist War. As the iron armor and fighter jets roared on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, batches of "national weapons" passed through the reviewing stand with a majestic posture, the shock and pride inside and outside the screen resonated with each other.

Shandong Gene Battle Flag Hunting: "Liangshan Battle Hero Company", "Jimo City First Company", "Tancheng Battle Model Company", "Ren Changlun Company", "Dai Gu Company", "Boshan Company", "Qingzhou Company", "Jiao County Battle Model Company"; Weihai Golden Monkey Group, with its strong strength and good reputation, has once again shone brightly on the parade site with the military boots of a thousand member joint military band and a female honor guard.

The "9.3" military parade is a deep reflection on history and a concentrated display of national defense strength in the new era. Behind these "ironclad heroes", the equipment manufacturing industry is writing a supporting chapter of "national treasure" with a solid industrial foundation and innovative strength.

Eighty years ago, when the flames of resistance against Japan spread across the land of China, our soldiers held earth guns, cannons, large knives, and long spears, building the backbone of the nation with their flesh and blood, defending national dignity in the arduous struggle. The disparity in equipment made the monument of victory engraved with tragic sacrifices. History shows us that without a strong equipment manufacturing industry, there is no solid national defense shield, let alone the confidence for peaceful development. The current Iron Armored Division, which is currently under scrutiny, showcases a concentrated display of domestically produced active combat equipment, ranging from fourth generation tanks and hypersonic missiles to unmanned intelligent devices. From individual intelligent terminals worn by infantry soldiers in the infantry, to hypersonic missiles such as the YJ-21 and Dongfeng-17; From J-20 and J-35 stealth fighter jets to unmanned dog, unmanned boat, and unmanned submarine collaborative combat systems; From information support units, cyberspace units, to joint logistics support units. Draw a magnificent picture of a technologically strong military. This is a direct reflection of national strength and a powerful proof of the equipment manufacturing industry as the material foundation of the "shield of peace". As a representative of the fourth generation of main battle equipment, the ZTZ-201 light tank made its debut at the military parade, marking the strategic transformation of China's main battle equipment from heavy to multifunctional; When the air squadron flew over Tiananmen Square in a modular formation, the systematic appearance of main combat aircraft such as early warning command aircraft, fighter jets, bombers, etc. echoed the new equipment of the ground unmanned combat group, outlining the three-dimensional picture of the Chinese military's new domain and new quality combat power, becoming the core highlight of this parade; Equipment such as military machine wolves and amphibious unmanned risk investigation robots have shown a trend of modernization in the military industry, and intelligent algorithms have deeply penetrated into core areas such as intelligence analysis and battlefield situational awareness; The domestically produced active combat equipment, including land, sea, and air based strategic heavy weapons, hypersonic weapons, and air defense and anti missile systems, made a stunning appearance, demonstrating China's independent breakthrough achievements in the field of strategic deterrence

Selected advanced military equipment for parade viewing (image taken from CCTV News)

As an important pillar of the national economy, China's equipment manufacturing industry has formed a comprehensive and large-scale industrial system, and Shandong plays an important role in the modernization of national defense construction with its profound industrial accumulation and innovative vitality. Although we cannot identify which equipment is made in Shandong on the screen, behind the "Iron Armor Hero" lies the "hardcore support" provided by Shandong elements, which are a major province in equipment manufacturing. China National Heavy Duty Truck Group's Howo series 6X6 and 8X8 all wheel drive military vehicle chassis have become specialized vehicles for our armored forces and artillery, widely used in key equipment such as missile launch vehicles. The Yellow River JN252 off-road vehicle fills the gap in China's military industry that cannot produce medium-sized military off-road vehicles, demonstrating the reliable quality of "Made in Shandong"; In the unmanned equipment system, Shandong enterprises are building a closed-loop technology transformation through the "military civilian integration" model. The unmanned aerial vehicle intelligent pod developed by Shandong Military Civilian Information Technology Group integrates multi-dimensional perception capabilities such as radar, electro-optical, and electrical reconnaissance, and is suitable for military unmanned aerial vehicles to perform reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, precision strikes, and low altitude economic fields; In the field of ground countermeasures, the vehicle mounted key ground clearance defense system developed by Jigang Group can accurately shoot down "black flying" unmanned aerial vehicles from kilometers away, and has become the "air shield" for key facilities such as airports and oil depots; As the core component of satellite communication, the space traveling wave tube jointly developed by Jigang Group and the Aerospace Academy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is directly related to the security of the "nerve center" of strategic communication, ensuring the autonomy and controllability of the national aerospace information network; Baowei New Materials has become the world's largest supplier of wing panels for the cargo drone White Whale route W5000, with its lightweight composite material technology supporting breakthroughs in low altitude economy; The high-end CNC machine tools developed by Shandong Weida have been successfully applied in the military industry, providing "Shandong equipment" for precision component processing; Weihai Guangwei Composite Materials not only provides core carbon fiber materials for the domestically produced C919 aircraft, but also promotes the construction of a carbon fiber and composite material industry chain connecting 67 large-scale enterprises in Weihai... Shandong's equipment manufacturing industry is injecting industrial momentum into national defense modernization with new quality productivity. This innovation of "listening to thunder silently" is the most solid foundation of a major country's heavy machinery and the Shandong power behind the ironclad army.

All members of the Secretariat sing the national anthem with great enthusiasm

The equipment display of "facing future wars" at the military parade guides the direction of industrial upgrading. Shandong's equipment manufacturing industry is driven by innovation and actively expanding into new fields such as aerospace, deep sea, and intelligence. The innovative genes of the Qilu region are being transformed into tangible industrial advantages, responding to the needs of national defense modernization and promoting the equipment manufacturing industry to move towards the high-end of the global value chain.

Article: Guo Guangli

Image source: CCTV News