Military fans in China and around the world should set their alarm clocks to ring before 10 am on Thursday Beijing time as they will be presented with a rare display of the People's Liberation Army's top weapons, observers suggested.

China will stage a grand parade on Thursday in Tian'anmen Square to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the end of World War II.

More than 12,000 military personnel as well as veterans and their descendants will participate in the event. Seventeen foreign military teams will also take part.

This will be China's 15th military parade since the founding of New China in 1949.

More than 500 pieces of the PLA's latest ground and naval equipment as well as nearly 200 advanced aircraft will be displayed, 84 percent of which have never been viewed by the public, according to the PLA Parade Joint Command.

What will be one of the biggest attractions during the parade are new-generation strategic missiles from the PLA second artillery corps, said Gao Zhuo, a military observer in Shanghai.

"The corps will display seven types of missiles during the event, more than any previous parades. The world's only anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the DF-21's latest variant are likely to appear in the parade," he said. "They will be our most effective weapons in anti-carrier operations."

He also noted the DF-26, an intermediate-range ballistic missile that will be made pubic on Thursday, fills the vacancy of an intermediate-range projection platform in the PLA's missile arsenal.

According to an article on the Popular Science website, the DF-26 fills a gap between the smaller DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile and the DF-31 and DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile. The article said the weapon was solid-fueled and transported on a 12-wheel transporter-erector-launcher vehicle for quick off-road launches.

In addition to strategic missiles, another weapon that will be worth paying attention to in the parade is the YJ-12 heavy-duty, supersonic anti-ship missile, said Qin Zhen, executive editor of Ordnance Knowledge magazine.

With its ultrafast speed and long striking range, the weapon is capable of penetrating a carrier battle group's air defense network and can use sea-skimming maneuvers to avoid interception when approaching the target, according to Qin.

"If a 100,000-metric ton aircraft carrier is hit by two YJ-12s, the ship will lose combat capability because no aircraft will be able to take off from the deck," Qin said.

Fu Qianshao, an aviation equipment expert with the PLA air force, suggested spectators can enjoy the world's longest colored vapor trails set to be made by J-10 fighter jets from the PLA August 1st Air Demonstration Team as the formations fly over Tian'anmen Square.

"The trails will stretch for as long as 9.1 km, covering the main section of Chang'an Avenue from China World Towers in the east to Fuxingmen Bridge in the west," he said.

At the end of the parade, aviation fans can expect to see the world's largest group of helicopters that has ever been shown in a parade, he said.

(China Daily September 2, 2015)