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  • ITOW: Science of Second Artillery Campaigns

    Translations from Chinese source documentsThe “In Their Own Words” series is dedicated to translations of Chinese documents in order to help non-Mandarin speaking audiences access and understand Chinese thinking. In the “In Their Own Words” series, CASI and its collaborators aim to provide Chinese

  • TFTC- The Chinese Dream

    Thoughts from the ChairmanThe Chinese Dream The Chinese Dream is a vision shared by Chinese people worldwide, a dream that embodies a collective hope and determination for the future of the nation. Unlike the American Dream, which centers on individual achievement, where people think they can work

  • Dancers at the Knife's Edge: PLA Rocket Force Nuclear Warhead Management

        The PLA Rocket Force (PLARF), until 2016 known as the PLA Second Artillery Force (PLASAF), is the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) ground-based strategic missile service. It is equipped with a wide range of nuclear and conventional missiles, including short, medium, intermediate, and

  • PLA Reorganizes Space Information Support and Assurance Mission

    The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) restructuring of its space information support and assurance forces further deepens its reliance on space for communications, navigation, and reconnaissance.The PLA is transitioning most—but not yet all—of the battlefield space information

  • China's Response to Operation Midnight Hammer: Caution or Paralysis?

    On 22 June 2025, the U.S. military carried out Operation Midnight Hammer, conducting night strikes on Iran’s three main nuclear facilities with submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and B-2 bombers carrying GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP), or “bunker-buster,” bombs.  The operation,

  • ITOW: How Will the Form of Air Warfare Change in the Future?

    Translations from Chinese source documentsThe “In Their Own Words” series is dedicated to translations of Chinese documents in order to help non-Mandarin speaking audiences access and understand Chinese thinking. In the “In Their Own Words” series, CASI and its collaborators aim to provide Chinese

  • TFTC: Xi is a Patriot

    Xi Jinping is a Patriot. He is working to make China a leading world power, and more importantly he's working for the Chinese people. He wants the lives of the Chinese people to be better.  He wants to raise the standard of living across China.  He wants to continue the successes of the Chinese

  • TFTC: What China Wants

    People ask “What are China's long-term goals? What does it mean to return to the center of the world stage? What does China want when it says it wants to be a great power?” The answer is simple China wants the same place in the world as the United States currently occupies.Click here for the full

  • ITOW: Lectures from Course Book on the Taiwan Strait's Military Geography

    Translations from Chinese source documentsThe “In Their Own Words” series is dedicated to translations of Chinese documents in order to help non-Mandarin speaking audiences access and understand Chinese thinking. CASI would like to thank all of those involved in this effort. In the “In Their Own

  • Intermediate Flight Training Shifting to Aviation University

    In June the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) broadcast a television news report showing students at the PLA Air Force’s (PLAAF) Aviation University training in an intermediate flight trainer. The university previously only conducted basic flight training, whereas intermediate flight training

  • TFTC: Borscht vs Jiaozi

    Thoughts from the Chairman.......Although China and Russia certainly have overlapping geostrategic interests, and have proclaimed that they have a friendship without limits, these are not the same countries, and these are not the same political systems.  Each leader has his own unique style and each

  • Aerial Refueling Added to Flight Academies’ Transition Training Curriculum

    In August 2025 the television news program National Defense and Military Affairs at Noon, which is produced by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), broadcast a segment showing flight instructors at the PLA Air Force’s (PLAAF) Xi’an Flight Academy undergoing training in aerial refueling.  This

  • Remote Basing: People’s Liberation Army Logistics on the Tibetan Plateau

    The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is at the forefront of China’s efforts to defend its extensive land border with India and maintain firm control over Tibet. As both China and India have expanded their respective infrastructural and military basing networks along the Line of Actual Control (the

  • China's Defense S&T Key Lab System - 2025 Update

        This report represents an updated and significantly expanded revision of The PRC State & Defense Laboratory System Part Two: Defense S&T Key Lab Directory, which was released in early 2023. That report was in turn the second part of The PRC State & Defense Laboratory System: An Overview,  which

  • TFTC: Friendlies before the World Cup

    China has spent the last thirty years laser focused on modernizing the military, with one goal in mind, to catch up to the United States and its allies and partners.  However, the armed wing of the Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, hasn’t fought a war since the 1979/1980s border war

  • The Evolution of China’s Nuclear Forces

    In recent years, China has embarked on the most significant transformation of its nuclear forces in its history. U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) projections indicate the People’s Republic of China (PRC) could field over 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.[i] The scope and speed of this buildup have

  • Thoughts from the Chairman

    Thoughts from the ChairmanSeries IntroductionIntroductionThe “Thoughts from the Chairman” series is intended to be thought provoking and encourage discussions, but is in no way meant to be authoritative.  In some cases, the “Thoughts” will be complete works of fiction, though based on years of