China’s Weaponry and Intelligence under Scrutiny with Failures on the Frontline

Global combat losses reveal the widening gap between Chinese tech and modern battlefield realities.

Real-world combat scenarios in recent times have exposed the fragility of China’s famed weapons systems. From Pakistan to Venezuela to Iran, all the countries’ air defences were breached by strikes from the US and India. India’s Operation Sindoor made short work of Pakistan’s defences while the US penetrated Venezuelan airspace in Operation Absolute Resolve, a carefully coordinated mission to capture its President Nicolas Maduro. The recent US-Israeli combined operation termed Operation Epic Fury targeted more than 1000 Iranian targets, wherein the HQ-9B units were no match for the Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Defence experts like Professor Dennis Wilder, a former CIA official, have described the tensions in Iran as a “wake-up call” for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China since the 1990s has shifted its military strategy from “people’s wars” to local wars with advanced equipment, also known as “informatised local wars”. As far as the use of electronic warfare and AI is concerned, China has been lagging behind the United States on several parameters. It does not possess comparable multidimensional battle awareness of the US’ calibre, a key ingredient for succeeding in modern warfare.

China’s perceived backwardness in this space has been exploited by the world’s sole superpower – the United States. President Trump in his 2026 State of the Union Address highlighted the glaring shortcomings of the Chinese military technologies guarding Iran. Thus, China’s positioning in the world order is challenged by the chinks in its armor. At the same time, the ramifications of its current state of weapons and intelligence technology affect its foreign policy posturing across the world.

China needs to focus on integrating its defence systems across various verticals and providing better after sales support for the armaments it sells. Furthermore, to ameliorate the current situation it also needs to focus on improving its maintenance systems.