The Chinese military kicks off the annual training for 2026 on January 4, 2026. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television News

The Chinese military officially kicked off the annual training of 2026 on Sunday, the first work day of the year, with the participation of some of the country's latest weaponry and equipment such as unmanned systems, the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the Type 055 destroyer and the DF-17 hypersonic missile, according to official media reports.

In a live-force small unit integration training session organized by the 79th Group Army aimed at seizing a hostile position, troops deployed drones and quadruped robots, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported on Sunday.

The report quoted Liu Wenyu, a member of a brigade under the 79th Group Army, as saying that "on today's battlefield, drones have evolved from simple reconnaissance tools into a highly specialized tactical system. We now employ bomb-dropping drones, smoke-laying drones, and suicide FPV drones. In our training, these three types of drones are organically integrated to form a flexible and adaptable drone tactical system."

A destroyer detachment of the Navy just wrapped up a mobilization conference to launch training for the new year. Multiple warships, including the Type 055 destroyer Nanchang, the Type 052D destroyer Xining and the Type 054A frigate Weifang, set out from a naval port in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province for their first combat training of 2026, according to CCTV News.

The training content is extensive, covering individual and full-ship drills, as well as single-ship and formation exercises. The training modules are increasingly combat-oriented, including ship handling and weapons operation under complex weather conditions, naval gun fire against surface and coastal targets, live-fire drills with decoy rounds, live-fire exercises with anti-frogman ordnance, as well as navigation training in various special situations such as narrow channels, power failure, and water leakage, CCTV News reported.

At an airfield of the Air Force, multiple J-20 stealth fighter jets prepared for their routine training on the first training day of 2026. After they took off, they are set to immediately conduct confrontational exercises, including consecutive training sessions including those on beyond-visual-range air combat, according to CCTV News.

The report noted that challenging courses such as nighttime refueling and long-duration flights have now become routine training. Operations in distant seas and oceans, on plateaus and along borders, as well as integrated system confrontations, are increasingly common.

A separate CCTV News report introduced the year-opening training of the Rocket Force. At a field training ground, participating units swiftly advanced to predetermined areas following the command orders. Upon reaching their training positions, the operators quickly deployed their weapons and equipment, established the main network connection, and meticulously carried out the equipment operations to initiate the launch sequence, according to CCTV News.

The CCTV News footage showed that the DF-17 hypersonic missile, which participated in the V-Day military parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025, took part in the training. A DF-17 missile is seen erected on its transporter erector launcher vehicle.

Other military branches and services including the Joint Logistics Support Force and the Armed Police Force also conducted the year's inaugural training, according to CCTV News.

In recent years, conducting system-wide training has become a standard practice across the entire military. The various services and arms have engaged in deep integration during joint training exercises, honing their joint operational capabilities. New equipment and newly formed forces have been incorporated into the operational framework, accelerating the development of high-quality combat capabilities, CCTV News said.

Global Times