After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, many people have questioned that if the Russian army is replaced by the People's Liberation Army and Ukraine is replaced by NATO,
【Russia-Ukraine conflict】
The answer to this question is undoubtedly yes, and while there are some differences in such assumptions, the military disparity between the two sides is so great that these factors are difficult to influence the final outcome of the conflict.
What will happen if the PLA enters the war
In fact, the enemy that Russia is facing on the battlefield is no different from NATO, and even stronger than the NATO army, and many people who don't know much about military affairs have a cognitive misunderstanding, that is, they think that the army of NATO member countries is better able to fight than the Ukrainian army, which is completely wrong.
In fact, before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict began, the Ukrainian army was the most capable one in the entire Western camp.
【Ukrainian Army】
This is also why the Ukrainian army was able to withstand the first wave of blitzkrieg when the Russian army started the war on its own.
Many countries, including Russia, underestimated the military heritage and war potential of the Soviet Union's second-largest confederation.
Of course, we have to compare, the serious NATO military also has what they are good at, such as a higher degree of informatization of the combat system, stronger cooperative combat capabilities, and more threatening naval and air forces.
But these advantages are put in front of the PLA, and they are a bit like playing big knives in front of Guan Gong.
[The PLA's cooperative combat capability is much stronger]
After the Gulf War, NATO countries generally followed the US military in starting informationization construction, but it is worth noting that the armed forces of these countries are engaged in informationization transformation, and they are not building informationized armies from scratch like China and the United States.
NATO countries are relatively small in size and size of their armies, so almost all of them have adopted a small but refined development route, which is probably to further streamline the size of their troops, and then use modern weapons to transform them into information.
Not to mention the PLA, even Russia can use its size advantage to crush these countries, which is why NATO countries have been using Ukraine to consume Russia.
【NATO Forces】
If the PLA participates in the war, first of all, the air supremacy and electronic supremacy on the battlefield will be controlled by our army, and unlike European countries, the modernization and informatization of the PLA are all based on the background of high-intensity major power wars.
For example, China is like a top heavyweight boxer, but at the same time it is at the top level in terms of agility and speed, while NATO countries are like lightweights with good strength, and they cannot be blamed for their poor military construction, but only to choose the wrong opponent.
Many of the mistakes made by the Russian army on the battlefield do not exist on the PLA side, such as the early disadvantage of the Aerospace Forces, and it was not until the UMPK guidance components were equipped that the ground strike efficiency was significantly improved.
[The effectiveness of ground strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces has not been significantly improved until the equipment of UMPK guidance components]
The Chinese Air Force has an extremely rich selection of guided weapons, and it uses the defense zone as the main air attack method, which can completely achieve 24-hour uninterrupted air suppression.
As for the current problem that Russia is often attacked by the Ukrainian army using Western missiles to sneak attack targets in depth, the PLA has a stronger situational awareness, and it is unrealistic for the enemy to establish a strike position under China's battlefield situational awareness system.
Second, the PLA's theater air defense system is not a leaky sieve like the Russian army, and even if the other side can really launch a strike, it can ensure the effectiveness of interception.
【PLA Air Defense Brigade】
What to do if the US military intervenes
Considering that NATO is already practicing the delivery of 300,000 mobile troops of the US military to Ukraine, if the PLA still has to face the US military, what will the result be?
To be sure, neither China nor the United States has fought against an opponent of each other's magnitude since the completion of informationization construction, and there are only two truly informationized armies in the entire world.
【U.S. Army】
Objectively speaking, there are some hidden dangers in the combat strength of both the Chinese and US militaries.
As far as the PLA is concerned, the biggest shortcoming is that it has not fought in actual combat for several decades, and although our army's confrontation drills and daily training emphasize actual combat, no matter how close it is to actual combat, it is not actual combat after all.
However, judging from the situation of several border conflicts in recent years, the morale and will to fight of the officers and men of the PLA are still quite high and resolute, and the spirit of not fearing sacrifice has been well inherited.
【People's Liberation Army】
The problem facing the US military is that the 20 years of asymmetric public security warfare have led the US military's operational direction astray, and the army's equipment is not at all suitable for the operations of major powers, for example, the M-ATV anti-mine anti-ambush vehicle that the US military is currently equipped with in large quantities, and its tall body is projected on the battlefield like a target.
The Air Force has suffered from serious skill deficiencies, and veteran pilots who have been fighting abroad for a long time have completely lost their basic air combat skills.
Moreover, in terms of the degree of informatization, the US military has no advantage over the PLA, and the PLA has benefited from the popularization of science and technology application, and the construction of the C4ISR system of grassroots troops is better than that of the US military.
【People's Liberation Army】
The confrontation between the Chinese and US militaries is a confrontation between battlefield informatization and electronic supremacy, and the PLA has an advantage over the US military in this respect.
Another of the PLA's winning weapons is area denial and anti-access capabilities, and the PLA has the ability to destroy the U.S. military's main force projection platform, which is a formidable capability that the U.S. military does not yet possess.
No matter what kind of army it is, if it wants to enter the battlefield, it must complete the projection of troops, and the PLA focuses on this stage, which is tantamount to cutting off the military input of the US military from the source.
[U.S. military deployment]
It is undeniable that the PLA's military strength and military construction are far more complete than Russia's, and if China does act in the future, it may redefine modern warfare, just like the 1991 Gulf War.
Sources:
[1] The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine admitted: In the battle of Vovchansk in Kharkiv, the Russian army achieved "tactical success".Global.2024-05-13 [Cited 2024-05-13]
[2] The Chinese People's Liberation Army has formed a new type of military arms structure layout. Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China [Cited 2024-04-22]