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PLAAF SAM Units Are Improving Their Capabilities

• SAM training intensity varies across China's former seven Military Regions; SAM units near the capital and coasts appear to be most active.
• PLAAF SAM units follow a yearly training cycle; training peaks during the summer and early fall.
• Progress is uneven; capabilities may vary significantly among similarly equipped units.

PLAAF SAM Training Content Largely Corresponds to Key Themes from PLA Training Regulations

• PLAAF SAM training guidance includes the Outline of Military Training and Evaluation, Five-Year Plan–related training reform guidelines, and annual PLA training guidance from the last decade.
• Training themes of 2013–2014 reflect this guidance — an emphasis on mobility, opposition force or confrontation, live-fire and nighttime, poor weather or difficult physical environments, and under complex electromagnetic conditions.
• PLAAF SAM training appears to focus on countering the high-technology air assault threats envisioned by the 2005 China Air Force Military Encyclopedia.

SAM Units Conducting More Realistic and Challenging Combat Training Compared with the Mid-2000s

• They are engaging in sophisticated confrontation training against aviation units, training without predetermined scripts and in unfamiliar territory, and training longer and under more difficult circumstances.
• SAM units continue to emphasize and practice denial and deception tactics and focus on countering low- and extreme low–altitude targets.
• There is limited joint and combined-arms training, despite the high priority the PLA places on acquiring the capability for integrated joint operations.
• SAM units appear to be moving beyond simple altitude de-confliction toward sharing data and coordinating firepower with aviation units.

This report analyzes key trends and themes in China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) surface-to-air missile (SAM) unit training. After providing background information on China's air defense forces, the report introduces the basics of PLAAF SAM training, including training requirements, trends in recent training activities, and analysis of training themes.

Based on this research, we found that PLAAF SAM units are improving their capabilities, although progress is uneven and capabilities may vary significantly between similarly equipped units. Based on data collected on PLAAF SAM training activities, the intensity of SAM training varies across China's former seven military regions. SAM units near the capital area and in the coastal regions appear to be most active. SAM units follow a yearly training cycle, with training peaking during the summer and early fall. Content-wise, PLAAF SAM units are engaging in more realistic and challenging combat training compared with the mid-2000s. They have increased the duration and difficulty of their training, continue to emphasize denial and deception tactics, and focus significant efforts on countering low- and extreme-low-altitude targets. SAM units are engaging in substantial mobility and night training, but face logistical hurdles that undercut their ability to rapidly move to operating locations and safety concerns that hinder their ability to engage in difficult and sophisticated training. There is limited joint and combined-arms training, but units appear to be moving beyond simple altitude de-confliction toward sharing data, employing more sophisticated target identification methods, and coordinating firepower with aviation units.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Background on China's Air Defense Forces

• Chapter Three

  Understanding PLAAF SAM Training

• Chapter Four

  PLAAF SAM Training Activities, 2013-2014

• Chapter Five

  Key Training Themes and Implications

• Chapter Six

  Conclusion