Chinese Type 052D missile destroyer Hefei (R) and Chinese Type 054A frigate Yuncheng dock in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on July 27, 2017. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
A trove of leaked Russian documents analyzed by a London-based defense institute suggests Moscow is supplying Beijing with equipment, technology, and training that could bolster the Chinese regime’s ability to mount airborne operations—capabilities analysts say could be applied to an attack on Taiwan.
The Royal United Services Institute’s (RUSI’s) analysis is based on approximately 800 pages of contracts, equipment lists, and correspondence obtained from the Black Moon hacktivist group. The materials, which date from 2023 to late 2024, according to the report’s authors, describe plans to transfer a complete set of weapons and systems to equip an airborne battalion, as well as specialized parachute systems and a training program for operators and technicians in Russia and China.
