Sources: All information stated in this article is based on reliable information, and is summarized at the end of this article.
The mainland's newly established information support unit has aroused widespread concern and discussion after it was exposed by the media.
What kind of force is the information support force, and what is its level?
The Information Support Unit was formed
On April 19, 2024, the Information Support Force was officially established. As soon as this news came out, it quickly aroused widespread concern among everyone, because we have relatively little understanding of the information support force.
From the response of Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman of the mainland's Ministry of National Defense, we can understand that the information support force is a newly created strategic branch of the mainland.
In the current readjustment of the structure of the new types of services, one of the most important changes is that the strategic support force has been taken offline and an information support unit has been established, and this unit is directly subordinate to the leadership and command of the Central Military Commission.
That is to say, after the adjustment, the PLA now has four major branches of the armed forces. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and four major arms of the armed forces, namely the Information Support Force, the Military Space Force, the Cyberspace Force, and the Joint Logistics Support Force.
As a matter of fact, we can see from the name of the information support unit that this is a unit that pays more attention to informationization.
As we all know, with the rapid development of science and technology, there is also a need for deeper integration between various branches of the armed forces, so the information support force is actually a bridge connecting various branches of the armed forces.
It makes the transmission of intelligence information between different branches of the military faster, the information chain is smooth, the security of the data link is guaranteed, and the information link distribution can be more reasonable in wartime.
In other words, the information support force actually enables our armed forces to reach a higher level of informationization, so as to coordinate and integrate the information system of the whole army.
It can be said that the information support force is a product of the information age, and it is also the glue and lubricant in military management.
From the perspective of development, in future wars, information-based warfare will become more and more dominant.
The status of the information support force will become more and more important.
What is the level of the Information Support Force?
Judging from the current information, the level of this information support unit belongs to the level of a sub-theater unit.
It is worth mentioning that the military aerospace forces and cyberspace forces, which were originally part of the strategic support forces, have also been reassigned to the direct leadership and command of the Central Military Commission, and are also units at the deputy theater level.
In the official documents, we also see that for this information support force, the state emphasizes four "wants". They are to resolutely obey the party's command, to vigorously support operations, to speed up innovation and development, and to consolidate the foundation of the troops.
These four "wants" obviously reflect the importance that the state attaches to this team.
Although many people expressed surprise at the establishment of the information support force, in fact, our army intended to readjust and improve the information technology of the army many years ago.
And after years of exploration, this information support force was finally established.
This also shows that our military has been constantly innovating and making the most suitable adjustments according to the changes in the actual situation. Judging from the current restructuring of forces, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has taken the lead in the world in adapting to modern warfare.
The PLA is ahead of the United States in military reform
There is no doubt that this military reform will greatly promote the process of informationization of the armed forces.
As a matter of fact, judging from today's wars, it is very difficult to win a war without computers and informationization.
This is reflected in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in the early days of the war, the Ukrainian army used Starlink in the United States, which led to Russia being at a disadvantage in informatization.
It was also on the eve of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that Ukraine made it difficult for Russia to advance because of its advantages in informatization.
In fact, the advent of the Internet has made people fully aware that fighting a war is not only about firepower and logistics, but also about information.
Because of this, the concepts of information-based warfare and information-based armies have also begun to spread throughout the world.
Allowing multiple branches of the armed forces to integrate with each other and exchange information is an opportunity worth seizing for all countries in the world. Whoever can take the lead in accomplishing the mutual integration of the services will certainly be able to gain more initiative and superiority in future wars.
As early as the 80s of the last century, the US military began to discuss the formation of information-based troops. However, because the problem of "mountaineering" within the US military is relatively serious, the progress in this aspect is not smooth.
At present, with the establishment of our army's information support units, our army's comprehensive strength will certainly be greatly enhanced in the future.
Resources:
What kind of force is the information support force? Detailed explanation of the Ministry of National Defense -- Beijing Daily