China is set to showcase its latest generation of military technology, including advanced unmanned underwater vehicles, during a major parade scheduled for next month.
Pictures leaked on Chinese social media showed preparations are already underway in Beijing, where the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will show off a lineup of new land and water-based weapons systems on 3 September to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender.
The parade is likely to be one of the largest in China’s history, potentially eclipsing the 2015 parade marking the 70th anniversary. That event involved more than 12,000 soldiers and included international contingents from Russia, Belarus, Mongolia, Cambodia and others nations.
Beijing has conducted two large-scale rehearsals this month, on the weekends of 9-10 and 16-17 August, attended by 22,000 and 40,000 people respectively when troops, police and spectators are included.
Analysts say next month’s parade will be an opportunity for the Chinese government to send a clear signal to its rivals and show off the fruits of an unprecedented programme of military modernisation.
Though the event will largely be shunned by Western leaders, many other foreign officials are expected to travel to Beijing to attend after the conclusion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in late August.
Xi Jinping, the president and head of the military, will deliver a speech on the occasion, which will feature “new-type combat capabilities,” including hypersonic weapons and a range of electronic gear, Beijing has announced.
Hundreds of aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers as well as ground equipment, some of which have never been seen in public before, will be featured in the parade, military officials said at a press conference.
From trucks fitted with devices to take out drones, new tanks and early warning aircraft to protect China's aircraft carriers, military attaches and security analysts say they are expecting China to display a host of new weapons and equipment at the parade.
China has the world’s largest standing military, with more than 2 million personnel, and an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of missiles, aircraft carriers, and fighter aircraft.
Navy power
China is likely to display at least two types of extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XLUUVs), according to leaked photos from the parade rehearsals.
🇨🇳 China is set to unveil the AJX-002, nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable extra large underwater vehicle (XLUUV).
— Vanguard Intel Group 🛡 (@vanguardintel) August 18, 2025
It measures 18-20 meters long and 1.5 meters in diameter, with pump jet propulsion and crane deployment lugs.
Comparable to Russia’s Poseidon nuclear torpedo, this… pic.twitter.com/IYMSaagnOu
The vessels, estimated to be around 60ft long, were seen being carried across the city on massive transport vehicles, Naval News reported. Their torpedo-shaped hulls and pump-jet propulsion systems revealed that the underwater vehicles were built to be stealthy.
Images showed one of the sea drones being marked as “AJX002”, while another type was photographed only under wraps.
Six of the drones were reportedly spotted during the rehearsal. Four matched the AJX002 profile, while two appeared slightly larger. The AJX002 features four lifting lugs along its hull, indicating that it is crane-assisted.
China operates the world's largest XLUUV program with at least five distinct types already in the water, Naval News reported.
Armoured Vehicles
The PLA will showcase its Type 99A main battle tank, which was developed as a replacement for the second-generation Type 88 tank, according to South China Morning Post. The development process for the Type 99 series, also known as the ZTZ-99, began in 1989 based on the design of the Soviet-era T-72 chassis.
Weighing at around 55 tonnes, Type 99A tanks are the most advanced variant of the Type 99 series and have been deployed by the PLA since 2011. It features an upgraded 105mm main gun, an enlarged turret, a four-sided radar, and an integrated propulsion system.
Medium_Tank
— 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) August 17, 2025
ZTZ-201 ＆ derivative infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) .the Chinese Army's new fourth-generation Medium Main Battle Tank.
➡️40-tonne class.
➡️New, next-generation 105 mm main gun.
➡️Remotely controlled turret, three-person crew compartment at the front of the hull.… pic.twitter.com/0zOTQk25Tq
The main battle tank operates with a crew of three and measures up to 36ft in length.
The Type 99A main battle tank is equipped with an advanced targeting system that allows the gunner to engage one target while the commander independently tracks the next, the SCMP reported.
Its upgraded fire-control system features a third-generation thermal imager, meteorological sensors, and a ballistic computer—enabling precise engagement of targets at ranges up to 5km.
Hypersonic and ballistic missiles
A intercontinental ballistic missile system and hypersonic anti-ship missiles are among the advanced weaponry the Communist government will display at the parade.
Photos on Chinese social media captured a new anti-ship missile from the YJ series being taken across the city for the parade rehearsals.
The new YJ-15 missile was spotted along with the YJ-17, YJ-19 and YJ-20 hypersonic missiles.
These sightings indicate China is advancing rapidly in hypersonic weapons technology, a field that has drawn global attention for its ability to evade traditional defence systems.
Various new missiles (ship UVLS launch?) confirmed, my 2c on roles:
— Rick Joe (@RickJoe_PLA) August 17, 2025
- YJ-15, ramjet compact supersonic?
- YJ-17, waverider hypersonic glide?
- YJ-19, ?maybe scramjet hypersonic?
- YJ-20, biconical hypersonic/aeroballistic? Possibly seen before from 055..
Via REautomaton, SDF pic.twitter.com/9061QDAi09
Also visible in the images was a new transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle carrying a large, tarp-covered missile canister, which could be a new ballistic missile system.
The anti-ship missiles and weapons with hypersonic capabilities will be particularly closely watched as the US and its allies prepare to counter China in any future regional conflict.
Loyal Wingman
An uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), believed to be a Collaborative Combat Aircraft or loyal wingman drone, was spotted on the streets of Beijing during the rehearsals.
Experts say the UCAV, which was spotted at the back of a truck, resembles either the Chinese FH-97 or the American YFQ-42A.
Andreas Rupprecht, a Chinese military aviation expert, said that the scale of rehearsals alone already exceeds expectations.
“Just focusing on the aviation segment and what China is expected to showcase – the rehearsals for the parade alone are already exceeding everything one could have expected,” he told news outlet Defence Blog.
The Victory Lap
The 70-minute-long Victory Day parade, comprising 45 contingents of troops, will be surveyed by President Xi at Tiananmen Square alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to reports.
Authorities have stepped up security in downtown Beijing since the first rehearsals this month, setting up checkpoints, diverting road traffic and shutting shopping malls and office buildings.
In Asia, World War Two ended on 2 September with the surrender of Japan after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Chinese Communist Party historians say China's casualties in the 1937-1945 Second Sino-Japanese War were 35 million.
The Japanese occupation caused the displacement of as many as 100 million Chinese people and significant economic hardship, as well as the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, during which an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 victims were killed.
