The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

The live demonstration phase of the exercise lasted
only 1 hour and 20 minutes, but a lot of action was
packed into that time period. SOF operations were
highlighted, including helicopter insertions, reconnaissance
activities, use of snipers, and close quarters
combat. The ground assault on the terrorists in
the village of “Kunshan” emphasized Russian lessons
learned in Chechnya. Several PLA leaders acknowledged
that the PLA had much to learn from Russian
experience. For example, 190th Brigade Commander
Hua Yi stated:
. . . during the plan consultation, the Chinese side proposed
that armored vehicles advance into city blocks
to provide firepower coverage, which was quickly and
specifically denied by the Russian side. According to
them, once entering city blocks, armored vehicles would
become targets and would be quickly destroyed. The offense
should be launched with special forces as the lead,
the infantry as the main force, and armor providing the
coverage. 70
Guo Yaodong, commander of the 9th Army Aviation
Regiment observed:
. . . in every shooting with live ammunition, Russian
helicopters always entered at extremely low altitude,
fired at extremely low altitude, and exited at extremely
low altitude. Such an assault method was capable of
thoroughly making use of a helicopter’s advantage in
launching attacks from a treetop level and rapidly and
stealthily engaging the enemy.
From the exercise, I felt that in our regular flight training,
we must further enhance the training according to
actual combat, transform from seeking stable flights to
rapid mobility, accurate strikes and effective command
of the air, and test the training quality according to the
requirements of actual combat. 71
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