China will be holding a military parade on Tuesday as part the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic and will feature the country's new home-grown weaponry.
The military parade will be held at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China and will be attended by government officials, selected members of the public, and 188 military attaches from 97 countries.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, 15,000 military personnel will participate in the event, including 59 different elements of the military, and it will showcase 580 pieces of military equipment rolling through the streets and 160 aircraft flying overhead. A number of foot, armor and aircraft formations will pass through or over Tiananmen Square after President Xi Jinping reviewed the troops along Chang'an Avenue.
A contingent from China's UN peacekeeping standby force will participate in the military parade for the first time.
Since President Xi announced major military reforms in 2015, the country's military spending has increased by at least 10% annually over the last decade and is currently at $168.2 billion. This is the second largest spending in the world, next to the US.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will showcase several new weapons systems at the parade, all of which it claims to be already in active service. These include the latest road-mobile DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile, which Chinese analysts say is able to target any part of the world and the DF-17 ballistic missile system which is capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicle similar to Russia's Avangard system.
The event will also debut two unmanned aircraft, one of which is the DR-8 supersonic surveillance and targeting drone while the the other is the batwing-shaped drone called Sharp Sword, designed to be launched from aircraft carriers.
While China is the second biggest spender on defense systems, it has downplayed its military investments by comparing it to that of the US.
