Dennis J. Blasko
©2026 Dennis J. Blasko
CLSC Quick Takes offer expert analysis of select sources and provide timely insight in a succinct format rather than as formally cited academic products.
Discovery
The article, “A Brigade of the 81st Group Army and a Brigade of the Air Force Jointly Conduct Training to Cultivate Air-Ground Joint Guidance Personnel—Army Soldiers Smoothly Call for Air Force Aircraft Support,” found in the January 23, 2026, edition of Jiefangjun Bao (Liberation Army Daily) describes the efforts of an Army brigade and a nearby Air Force fighter brigade to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures to enable “air-ground joint guides” to execute close air support missions. The article states, the “new Army military training outline clearly stipulates that grassroots combat units [i.e., battalions and below] must be equipped with part-time forward air controllers, and reconnaissance officers must possess air-ground joint guidance capabilities. This requirement provides institutional support for solving the challenges of joint operations.” It acknowledges that Army and Air Force officers do not understand the complexities of the other service’s operations and the “command systems of both sides belong to different organizational structures, with inconsistent terminology, incompatible communication methods, and non-interoperable data interfaces . . . All of these factors have become ‘invisible barriers’ hindering the effective implementation of joint operations.” In the past, supporting Air Force units sent their guidance teams to the front lines to direct Air Force support, greatly limiting and slowing down the process. Over the last year, however, this Army brigade has worked with its Air Force counterpart to produce training materials (based on standardized language and procedures) and conduct training exercises to enable brigade personnel to control Air Force aircraft in support of ground operations.
Analysis
The PLA has been developing tactics, techniques, and procedures for joint close air support for decades. In 2023, the Foreign Military Studies Office published The People’s Liberation Army’s Evolving Close Air Support Capability by retired US government analyst Kevin McCauley that provides a detailed history of the efforts. Moreover, since 2017, each Group Army has been assigned an Army Aviation Brigade (or Air Assault Brigade) with multiple battalions of attack helicopters. These assets, available to the Group Army’s combined arms brigades, provide helicopter fire support to their operations—under the control of their own Army guides. In many cases, organic helicopter fire support will likely be more rapidly available to Army units in contact with the enemy rather than Air Force fixed-wing assets. Nonetheless, the “Big Army” has directed that some percentage of “part-time forward air controllers and reconnaissance officers” are trained to perform joint air-ground guidance.
Implications
This recent article suggests that no PLA-wide or Army-wide doctrine for joint close air support has been promulgated and adopted into the training system. Instead, individual units have been developing their tactics, techniques, and procedures, preferably in conjunction with a nearby Air Force unit. Not all Army combat units, however, are within easy liaison distance of Air Force units that can provide direct support. As a result, joint close air support capabilities likely vary widely among Army and Air Force elements.
Strategic Message
Although the Chinese have studied the US military’s experiences as well as other militaries’ experiences in joint close air support, PLA organization, doctrine, training, and capabilities to conduct the mission appear to be significantly different from our own, with no recent real-world combat experience. In the past, the PLA Army has substituted its organic artillery fire support to achieve the effects of close air support. It continues to develop doctrine, train its personnel, and integrate new technologies and weapons to conduct Air Force close air support for Army maneuver units.
Analysis Source: “第81集团军某旅与空军某旅携手开展空地联合引导员人才培养——陆军单兵顺畅呼叫空军战机” [A Brigade of the 81st Group Army and a Brigade of the Air Force Jointly Conduct Training to Cultivate Air-Ground Joint Guidance Personnel—Army Soldiers Smoothly Call for Air Force Aircraft Support], 中国军网 [China Military Online], January 23, 2026, http://www.81.cn/szb_223187/szbxq/index.html?paperName=jfjb&paperDate=2026-01-23&paperNumber=08&articleid=971560.
Keywords: PLA, PLA joint operations, PLA Army, PLA Air Force, PLAAF, PLA CAS, Close air support, Joint tactical air controller, JTAC, Chinese air-ground
Dennis J. Blasko
Dennis J. Blasko (lieutenant colonel, US Army, retired) is a former military intelligence officer and foreign area officer specializing in China. He is an independent analyst and author of The Chinese Army Today (Routledge, 2012).
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