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2h ago

RUSI Says Leaked Files Show Russia Supplying Airborne Gear and Training to China for Taiwan Contingency

The findings rest on an 800-page leak that RUSI deems plausible even as major outlets have not independently verified it.

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BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 3: Chinese soldiers march with the national flag, the flag of the Communist Party of China, and the People's Liberation Army during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025, in Beijing, China. China's Victory Day military parade serves as a powerful display of national pride and military power. This year's parade carries heightened geopolitical weight with the attendance of 26 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, underlining China's diplomatic alliances as it presents itself as an alternative global leader. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The cache describes deliveries of airborne-capable vehicles—37 BMD-4M, 11 Sprut-SDM1 and 11 BTR-MDM—plus command platforms and Dalnolyot high-altitude parachute systems.
  • Beijing requested testing Dalnolyot from about 26,250 feet, which RUSI says would allow glides up to roughly 80 kilometers and enable covert special-forces insertion.
  • The documents outline Russian training in China for a full airborne battalion and infiltration missions, a repair-and-maintenance hub on Chinese soil, and adaptation of equipment to Chinese communications and software.
  • A September 2024 memo cites an initial April 2021 agreement and completion of early phases—technical analysis, software modifications and initial manufacture—with contracts formalized in October 2024 after meetings in Moscow and Beijing.
  • RUSI assesses the package could broaden China’s options for an operation against Taiwan and speed readiness toward 2027, while AP reports it cannot independently verify the cache and the papers show no proof of Chinese payments or deliveries.