People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces

Last updated
People's Liberation Army
Special Operations Forces
中国人民解放军特种部队
Active1988 – present
CountryFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Republic of China
BranchGround Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Ground Force
Naval ensign of China.svg  Navy
Air Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Air Force
Rocket Force Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Rocket Force
Type Special forces
Part ofPeople's Liberation Army Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Liberation Army
March《特种部队之歌》
("Anthem of the Special Forces")
Engagements
Insignia
Sleeve badge People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces sleeve badge.svg

In the People's Republic of China, the special operations forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA SOF) are units that conduct direct action and reconnaissance, including in enemy rear areas, to prepare the advance of friendly forces; they also perform counter-terrorism operations, although that mission is formally assigned to People's Armed Police. PLA SOF does not control, but may support, psychological warfare operations. [1]

Contents

Each theater command controls their own SOF units. The units rely on external support to conduct missions. [2] Most ground SOF are organized like conventional light infantry units. [3] In 2022, many units were recently converted from conventional forces and likely had capabilities closer to shock troops than special forces. [4]

In 2022, the PLA SOF consisted of 15 Ground Force (PLAGF) brigades, one Marine Corps (PLANMC) brigade, one Airborne Corps (PLAAFAC) brigade, and the Rocket Force (PLARF) Reconnaissance Regiment. [5]

History

The first army SOF units were created in the 1990s. [6]

By 2022, PLA SOF had been expanded by converting conventional forces. [7]

Navy special forces deployed with the first Chinese anti-piracy naval patrol off Somalia on 26 December 2008. [8]

Organization

Marine special forces in 2016. 140716-G-HN254-571 (14714332244).jpg
Marine special forces in 2016.

The PLA SOF is divided into 2000-3000 personnel brigades or 1000-2000 personnel regiments. [2] Brigades are internally organized like conventional PLAGF brigades with the "brigade-battalion-company-team" hierarchy, [2] [9] which delegate less authority to team commanders. Conventional "centralized", rather than "task oriented", command style is used. [7]

China does not have a national-level command for SOF (like the USA's SOCOM). Theater Commands control their own SOF units. [2] Each group army contains a SOF brigade. [5] Units have discrete missions depending on their location and branch. [2]

Each of the SOF brigades has a semi-formal cognomen as well as a number (which is usually identical to the group army they are subordinated to). The special Xinjiang and Tibet military districts also have their own brigades. The Navy, the Air Force, and the Rocket Force all deploy their own units.

Capability

SOF receive priority for quality personnel [2] and new equipment. [3]

All SOC units are airborne and air assault capable. [3]

SOF has limited organic dedicated infrastructure of support. [2] It relies on theater logistics [3] and external resources to carry out missions. The PLAAFAC provides all SOF units with tactical insertion, extraction, and resupply. [2] SOF operations in the enemy rear are restricted by the limited ability of conventional forces to support them. SOF and conventional brigades suffer similar problems with command and control, including communications inside SOF brigades and between SOF and conventional units. [3]

According to Chen and Wuthnow in 2022, the command structure and mission of most PLA SOF brigades resembled the United States Army Rangers rather than Delta Force. [31]

Inter-service SOF training is rare, the most common being PLAGF SOF with PLAAF aircraft. [32]

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ the reason for the unit's rather non-fierce nickname is that it is an homage to the wartime hero Peng Xuefeng
  2. ↑ the jiaolong is a notoriously hard-to-translate mythical creature, so it is often simply pronounced as in Mandarin rather than translated.

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ United States Department of Defense 2023, p. 82.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 United States Department of Defense 2023, p. 84.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 United States Department of Defense 2023, p. 86.
  4. ↑ Chen & Wuthnow 2022, p. 6.
  5. 1 2 United States Department of Defense 2023, p. 85.
  6. ↑ Horn & Ilis-Alm 2024, p. 112.
  7. 1 2 Chen & Wuthnow 2022, p. 8.
  8. ↑ "Chinese Navy sets sail for anti-piracy mission off Somalia". China Daily. Xinhua. 26 December 2008. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Chen & Wuthnow 2022, p. 7.
  10. ↑ 网易 (2022-07-25). "中野虎师！第71集团军"海鲨"特战旅，前身部队有多牛？". www.163.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  11. ↑ "霹雳尖兵淬炼胜战刀锋——记新征程上的"南京路上好八连"-新华网". www.news.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  12. ↑ sina_mobile (2022-03-13). "全套单兵作战系统：东部战区"东海飞龙"特种部队换装". mil.sina.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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  19. ↑ "陆军第78集团军某特战旅组织特战队员跳伞训练 - 中华人民共和国国防部". www.mod.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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  22. ↑ "雄鹰特战旅的军事运动会！燃！燃！燃！-今日头条". www.toutiao.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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  25. ↑ "强军精武河南兵丨祝志强： 用忠诚铸就"昆仑利刃" - 德耀中华 - 新乡网新闻中心". news.xxrb.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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  30. ↑ Ma, Xiu. "PLA Rocket Force Organization" (PDF). Air University. China Aerospace Studies Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
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  32. ↑ United States Department of Defense 2023, pp. 85–86.
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Sources

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