Exercises Military Diplomacy

A Close Look at the Air Defense and Anti-Missile Drill of the China-Russia "Maritime Joint-2026" Joint Exercise

中俄“海上联合-2026”联合演习防空反导演练侧记

PLA Daily (解放军报) 11 July 2026

Summary

During the at-sea phase of Maritime Joint-2026 in the Yellow Sea, Chinese and Russian naval forces conducted a coordinated air defense and anti-missile drill in which the destroyer Kaifeng served as the command node, with Chinese vessels handling long-range interception, Russian vessels providing medium-range coverage, and individual ships managing close-in defense — with targeting data shared across the formation via data link. The drill documents the operational maturity of China-Russia naval data-link integration, a specific technical interoperability problem that earlier exercises in this series left unresolved; the article's claim of 'seamless' real-time target sharing across heterogeneous Chinese and Russian systems, if accurate, extends the record of how far that integration has progressed since 2012. The detail that sailor Guo Xihuan has participated five times across the series provides a baseline on personnel continuity within China's dedicated bilateral exercise cadre.

Translation

Forging Together a "Defense Line" Across Sea and Sky

— A Close Look at the Air Defense and Anti-Missile Drill of the China-Russia "Maritime Joint-2026" Joint Exercise

■ PLA Daily Correspondents Zhang Junsheng and Zhang Lin

Photo of the air defense and anti-missile drill site. Photo by Li Fengxiang

In a certain sea area of the Yellow Sea, clouds hung low and waves surged. The China-Russia "Maritime Joint-2026" joint exercise has recently entered its at-sea exercise phase.

In the combat command room of the Kaifeng, radar screens flickered with dense light points. "Enemy" aerial targets were closing in rapidly. A series of orders were transmitted with precision to Chinese and Russian vessels via data link, and the air defense and anti-missile drill commenced.

Multiple fast-moving aerial targets approached the formation. The Chinese and Russian naval formation swiftly shifted its configuration, establishing a three-layered fire network at long, medium, and short range — long-range interception by Chinese vessels, medium-range coverage by Russian vessels, and close-in defense handled by each ship's close-in weapons platforms.

Officers and sailors aboard the Kaifeng held their breath in concentration as they engaged the incoming targets. Simultaneously, the air defense systems of the Russian missile cruiser Varyag responded, conducting coordinated strikes in the shortest possible time. Multiple successive waves of "targets" were effectively intercepted, validating the two sides' joint operational capabilities.

During the drill, the radar systems of both China and Russia detected targets in the relevant sea and air space with complete clarity, and simultaneously shared that information with all participating vessels. The Chinese and Russian naval formations coordinated closely and effectively countered the incoming targets.

"Both sides coordinated closely, achieving seamless integration," participating officers and sailors stated.

Since the China-Russia "Maritime Joint" series of exercises was inaugurated in 2012, it has become an important platform for practical cooperation between the two militaries. This joint exercise takes "jointly responding to maritime security threats" as its subject, with exercise events set closer to actual combat and current military development trends. Chen Ruoyu, a member of the naval formation's command post, said that both sides communicated and planned together, with "very high efficiency and very rapid convergence of views."

Guo Xihuan, a sailor aboard the Kaifeng, has participated in this exercise series five times. He said that the content of the China-Russia "Maritime Joint" exercise events has grown increasingly rich, the pace of transitions has grown increasingly fast, and the level of complexity has progressively deepened, bringing the exercises closer to actual combat. The degree of mutual trust and tacit understanding between the two participating sides has continuously improved, and their capacity for close coordination and joint action has grown ever stronger.

With the air defense and anti-missile drill concluded, the formation continued its transit toward the designated sea area. Waves lapped against the hulls, and between sea and sky, radar antennas spun at speed. The next exercise event is about to begin.

Original Chinese

携手锻造海天“防线” ——中俄“海上联合-2026”联合演习防空反导演练侧记 ■解放军报记者张军胜张琳防空反导演练现场。李凤祥摄黄海某海域，云低浪急。日前，中俄“海上联合-2026”联合演习已进入海上演练阶段。开封舰作战指挥室，雷达屏幕上光点密集跳动。“敌”空中目标正快速逼近。一道道指令通过数据链精准下达至中俄各舰，防空反导演练打响。多个空中快速目标向编队逼近，中俄舰艇编队迅速变换队形，构建起远中近三层火力网——远程由中方舰艇拦截，中程由俄方舰艇补位，近程由各舰近防武器平台收尾。开封舰官兵屏息凝神，对抗来袭目标。与此同时，俄“瓦良格”号导弹巡洋舰防空系统也做出响应，在最短时间内进行协同打击。连续多批次“目标”被有效拦截，检验了双方协同作战能力。演练中，中俄双方的雷达系统把相关海空域内的目标探测得清清楚楚，并同步将信息共享给所有参演舰艇。中俄海上编队密切协同，有效抗击来袭目标。 “中俄双方密切协同，实现无缝衔接。”参演官兵表示。中俄“海上联合”系列演习自2012年举办以来，已成为两军务实合作的重要平台。此次联演以“联合应对海上安全威胁”为课题，科目设置更贴近实战和当前军事发展趋势。海上编队指挥所成员陈若愚说，双方在一起交流、筹划，“效率非常高，达成统一意见非常快”。开封舰舰员郭喜欢已5次参加该系列演习。他说，中俄“海上联合”演习科目内容越来越丰富，转换节奏越来越快，复杂程度逐步加深，更加贴近实战。参演双方互信和默契程度不断提升，密切配合、联合行动能力越来越强。防空反导演练结束，编队继续向预定海域航渡。浪花拍打舰舷，海天之间，雷达天线飞旋。下一个演习科目，即将展开。