Last weekend, foreign media reported that the People's Liberation Army is procuring 1 million drones and delivering them before 2026. Some anti China social media accounts abroad lament that this is not good news. China is the world's largest producer of drones, but if we want to produce one million drones, it also depends on the specific model. For large drones like the Wing Loong 2 or Rainbow 5, the People's Liberation Army does not need to purchase one million. If it is a regular small quadcopter drone, there is actually no need to purchase so many. Generally speaking, only grassroots teams need this type of small drone. In the vast majority of cases, the information and firepower support provided by large and medium-sized drones are unmatched by small drones. There are even fewer small unmanned aerial vehicles suitable for air and naval operations. What they need are large, high-performance high-end unmanned aerial vehicles.

       But foreign media believe that the People's Liberation Army wants to purchase suicide drones, which are patrol missiles. Patrol missiles are intelligent ammunition, but they are more convenient to carry and use than traditional missiles, and their launch methods are more flexible. The "Spring Knife" of the United States, the "Lancet" of Russia, and the "Habib" of Israel are all globally renowned cruise missiles. After the cruise missile is launched, it can only fly in the air for a few minutes and must rush towards the target before the battery runs out, without considering recycling.

        Can the military expenditure of the People's Liberation Army and the production capacity of domestic enterprises support such production figures? At the Zhuhai Airshow in November this year, we saw many companies launching similar models. Among them, there are traditional military enterprises as well as emerging private enterprises. The People's Liberation Army purchases patrol missiles, and the source of goods is abundant.

        Although these patrol missiles do not look the same as quadcopters, the key technologies, components, and materials used are basically the same, including plastic or carbon fiber body structures, rare earth motors, lithium batteries, optoelectronic heads, and so on. Supported by a strong civilian industry, relevant enterprises are not only able to smoothly purchase the required components, but also have low prices and no need to worry about quality. Therefore, if the People's Liberation Army is determined to complete this procurement figure within a few years, it can definitely be achieved.

        The price of patrol missiles is directly related to the quantity purchased. The People's Liberation Army organized an extremely low-cost drone competition and comparison test in December 2024. The concept of extremely low cost should be one or even two orders of magnitude lower in price than current guided weapons of the same use. On today's Russia Ukraine battlefield, both sides have used civilian components to assemble small suicide drones, with a unit price reduced to around $400, equivalent to less than 3000 yuan in Chinese yuan. We can relax the procurement unit price of the People's Liberation Army a bit, for example, 10000 yuan per piece, so purchasing 1 million aircraft only requires 10 billion yuan, which is also affordable for the country.

        How much combat benefit can one million suicide drones or cruise missiles bring on the battlefield? The Russo Ukrainian war has given us ample answers. A suicide drone can eliminate at least one individual soldier or a military vehicle. Standard patrol missiles can carry powerful warheads and even destroy a tank. Even if it cannot be completely destroyed, as long as it is placed in a relatively vulnerable position, it can at least make this tank withdraw from the battlefield. Assuming that the hit rate of these 1 million cruise missiles is only 20%, which means they can destroy 200000 targets. Who can afford such a loss in the hands we may face? I'm afraid neither the US military stationed in South Korea nor the US military stationed in Japan can bear it together.

If someone wants to fight a full-scale war with China, we will show the world the power of China's industrial mobilization. The purchase quantity of one million cruise missiles is not a difficult target to implement. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has also manufactured and stockpiled a large amount of conventional weapons and ammunition, and did not wait for the expected major war. The answer to the question of whether there will be a war is always dynamic. You may not be able to fight even if you are fully prepared; When you are unprepared or even unprepared, war will definitely come to you! Only by making our opponents realize that we cannot and cannot win a war against China, can we avoid war and embrace peace. In this sense, it is necessary for the People's Liberation Army to purchase a certain number of patrol missiles, even if they are not needed for storage.