In general, the quality of Chinese weapons and military personnel is overwhelmingly better than India’s, and though India has purchased some US and Russian-made weapons in recent years, the PLA’s advantage remains the same, said Song Zhongping, a military expert who served in the PLA Rocket Force.Air forces, helicopters, long-range attack weapons and light armored vehicles are very important for combat in mountainous and plateau regions.
In the air, China’s J-10C and J-11 fighter jets, H-6K bombers, Z-10 attack helicopters and other types of transport helicopters, no matter the quality or quantity, are all better than India’s, Song said.China’s long-range rocket artillery is not only better than India’s, but is the best in the world. The rocket boasts a terminal guidance function, which means it can search for its target before it strikes. Although one rocket costs 700,000 yuan ($104,555), it’s still cheaper than a guided missile, and it has a range of more than 105 kilometers.
With this kind of weaponry, the geographic barriers of mountains and plateaus are not an obstacle for the PLA to destroy its enemy, Song said. India might think that the Chinese air force doesn’t have enough air bases in the Tibet Autonomous Region, but they are seriously mistaken, Xu said. According to open information, China has at least five large airports in Tibet, and the furthest one from Doklam is only 1,000 kilometers away.
The combat radius of J-10C and J-11 planes is more than 1,200 kilometers, so the Indian military had better abandon their illusions, he stressed.