Prepping for Xi’s Visit: Part 3
FWIW, there are multiple jokes that are operating within the HTML Code of this essay that I was unaware of like a YouTube No Cookie website in a “container” that is an indirect reference to civilian-military fusion concept of deploying EMPs using civilian merchant ships in critical ports. I’d also imagine that every mention of a directed energy weapon from the ground should also have its mirror in space. I’ll once again remind the readers that this are published research from Chinese institutions that are mentioned in the musing. Published research always implies technology that has become redundant. Seen from the Chinese military upper echelons the American War with Iran and the Russian Conflict with Ukraine must justifiably seem amusing.
The 2026 Asymmetric Landscape: Multi-Domain Combinatorics, System Destruction Warfare, and China's Intelligentized Knockout Doctrine
Tixi Pozuozhan, the Post-SSF Command Revolution, and the Operationalization of the Y & Z Domains
1. The Strategic Trajectory: 1996 to 2026
Across the arc of this series, we have traced China’s Assassin’s Mace (Shashoujian, 杀手锏) doctrine across three decades of transformation:
- Part I (1996 – mid-2000s): Tactical platform interdiction through kinetic and electromagnetic "acupuncture points" (Li Zhiyun, Sun Bailin, Chang Mengxiong).
- Part II (2010 – 2016): Network-centric system destruction, the December 2015 creation of the Strategic Support Force (SSF), mass data exfiltration (the 2013 DSB and 2015 OPM breaches), and the conceptual birth of Biological Dominance (Zhishengquan) and Brain Dominance (Zhinaoquan).
In 2026, the Assassin's Mace has evolved into an automated, multi-domain system of systems. The operational objective is no longer merely to deter carrier strike groups; it is to paralyze the adversary's cognitive, informational, and biological ability to command and deploy forces before physical combat can begin.
Strategic Briefing: Assessing China's integration of Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Swarms, and Intelligentized Joint Operations.
2. The Ip Man Continuum: Beyond the Opening Sucker Punch to Continuous Chain-Striking
Western analysts often mistake the Assassin’s Mace for a singular opening sucker punch designed to score an immediate knockout. However, Chinese operational doctrine mirrors the martial arts philosophy demonstrated in the cinematic progression of Ip Man (Parts 1 through 4).
In Wing Chun, combat is governed by centerline control, sensory trapping (Chi Sao), and continuous chain-punching (Lian Huan Ri Zi Quan). If an initial strike fails to score an immediate knockout, the fighter does not pause or reset. Instead, they trap the adversary's limbs, disrupt their balance, and unleash a relentless succession of rapid blows until systemic collapse is achieved.
In the PLA's 2026 posture, an initial non-kinetic strike (cyber utility disruptions and space blinding) is followed immediately by an unbroken operational cascade: swarms of autonomous uncrewed vehicles, hypersonic glide weapons, containerized missiles, and algorithmic cognitive subversion delivered in rapid succession, preventing the adversary from ever regaining operational balance.
3. The Russian Cautionary Tale: Mirth in Beijing Over Ukraine
Within Beijing’s defense academies, the Russian Federation's protracted war in Ukraine is viewed with profound professional critique and dark amusement. Russia, the PLA’s historical mentor, violated every foundational principle of modern joint warfare:
- Failure to Secure Information Dominance: Russia failed to blind Ukrainian radar arrays, allowed Starlink SATCOM to operate uninhibited, and utilized unencrypted communications.
- Absence of Integrated Joint Operations: Russian forces operated in rigid, service-siloed stovepipes rather than flattened multi-domain command structures.
- Regression into Attrition: Stalling outside Kyiv due to logistics failures, Moscow devolved into World War I-style artillery duels and trench attrition.
To PLA planners steeped in Tixi Pozuozhan (System Destruction Warfare), Ukraine proved that industrial attrition is strategic bankruptcy. It reinforced Beijing's determination to execute rapid, multi-domain system paralysis rather than protracted combat.
4. The Doctrinal Engine: Zuozhan Tixi vs. Tixi Pozuozhan
Zuozhan Tixi (作战体系 - Operational System of Systems): The integrated organism of joint military power—combining sensors, command-and-control networks, strike weapons, logistics, and human decision-makers into a functional web.
Tixi Pozuozhan (体系破战 - System Destruction Warfare): The operational methodology of dismantling, blinding, and disintegrating the enemy's Zuozhan Tixi by striking its critical structural nodes (guanjian jiedian).
Codified in the Central Military Commission's November 2020 Joint Operations Outline (Trial) and benchmark textbooks published by the Academy of Military Science and the National Defense University, the doctrine of Multi-Domain Precision Warfare (MDPW - 多域精确战) uses AI and big data to identify vulnerabilities in the adversary's Zuozhan Tixi, directing cross-domain kinetic and non-kinetic strikes to achieve operational paralysis.
5. Space, Distributed Synthetic Aperture Radar (DSAR), and the Orbital Horizon
To track American carrier strike groups across the Pacific, the PLA shifted from vulnerable, monolithic satellites to Distributed Synthetic Aperture Radar (DSAR). Spearheaded by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), and Xidian University:
- LuTan-1 (2022): Dual-satellite formation delivering multi-baseline interferometry.
- LuTan-4 (August 13, 2023): The world's first geosynchronous (GEO) orbit SAR satellite, stationed 36,000 km overhead to provide continuous, all-weather radar tracking across the entire Indo-Pacific theater.
- SSBD-SAR (2024–2026): Small-satellite distributed formations that suppress electronic jamming and generate 3D profiles of moving surface vessels.
6. The Combinatoric Matrix: Cross-Domain Synergy in the Y & Z Realms
| Combinatoric Mode | Primary Domains Engaged | Integrated Operational Mechanism | Induced Adversary Failure State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logistical Decapitation & Mobilization Severing | Zhixinxiquan (Cyber/EW) + Zhinenghua (Edge Processing) + Kinetic Maritime Delivery |
Commercial merchant vessels launch containerized YJ-18C cruise missiles with high-power electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads off the California coast, synchronized with Volt Typhoon living-off-the-land industrial malware. | Disables commercial power grids, port container cranes, and municipal water supplies in San Diego and Puget Sound, stalling military embarkation timelines for weeks. |
| Sensory Blinding & Swarm Saturation | Zhitianquan (Space Dominance) + Zhixinxiquan (Electronic Attack) + Autonomous Systems |
Aerospace Force co-orbital electronic jammers disrupt satellite communications, while maritime platforms release hundreds of autonomous aerial loitering munitions and uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) across defensive perimeters. | Exhausts Aegis vertical launch system (VLS) surface-to-air interceptors (SM-2/SM-6) against low-cost decoys, clearing lanes for high-velocity hypersonic glide vehicles. |
| Cognitive Overload & Decisional Paralysis | Yishiyu (Consciousness Domain) + Zhinaoquan (Brain Dominance) + Machine-Speed Disruption |
Exfiltrated biometric and personnel databases (from the 2015 OPM breach) train generative-AI models to deploy hyper-personalized deepfakes, conflicting damage assessments, and spoofed communications into Joint Operations Centers. | Fractures trust within the command staff, induces cognitive paralysis, and delays the execution of operational combat orders during the opening hours of a conflict. |
| Biological Resilience Degradation | Zhishengquan (Biological Dominance) + Zhinaoquan (Brain Science) + Military-Civil Fusion |
Deploys targeted neuro-pharmacological countermeasures, acoustic/microwave directed-energy disruption, and synthetic pathogen vectors against forward deployments, while enhancing domestic troops via non-invasive BCIs. | Induces acute cognitive fatigue, sleep deprivation, and operational disorientation in opposing watch-standers while preserving PLA human-machine decision speeds. |
7. The April 19, 2024 Command Revolution: Dismantling the SSF
On April 19, 2024, Chairman Xi Jinping dissolved the Strategic Support Force (SSF), replacing it with three independent arms reporting directly to the Central Military Commission:
| New Independent Arm | Command Mandate | Operational Function in Intelligentized Warfare |
|---|---|---|
| Information Support Force (ISF) (信息支援部队) |
Joint Data Backbone | Manages enterprise military cloud networks and communications, directly routing space and cyber targeting feeds to Theater Commands at machine speed. |
| Aerospace Force (ASF) (军事航天部队) |
Space Dominance (Zhitianquan) | Controls orbital reconnaissance constellations (LuTan-4), Space Situational Awareness, and offensive counter-space weapons (kinetic ASAT, lasers, co-orbital jammers). |
| Cyberspace Force (CSF) (网络空间部队) |
Information & Cognitive Dominance | Directs offensive cyber operations (Volt Typhoon), critical infrastructure pre-positioning, defensive shielding, and algorithmic cognitive warfare. |
8. Directory of Chinese Defense Research Institutions & Publications
Military Academies and Defense Research Institutes
-
Academy of Military Science (AMS) - 军事科学院 (Beijing): The PLA’s premier research institute for joint doctrine and defense science integration.
Key Publications: Strategic Research Department, Science of Military Strategy (战略学), Military Science Press, 2013/2020 editions (Codifies Tixi Pozuozhan); Research Group on Intelligentized Operations, On Intelligentized Warfare (论智能化作战), 2020. -
Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) - 军事医学科学院 (Beijing): Subordinate to the AMS; leads research into military brain science, neuro-strike systems, and biological dominance.
Key Publications: Maj. Gen. He Fuchu, "Biotechnology and the Strategic Commanding Heights of Future National Defense," China Military Science, 2015; "Mechanisms of Microwave-Induced Cognitive Impairment," Chinese Journal of Radiological Medicine and Protection, 2021. -
National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) - 国防科技大学 (Changsha): Directly subordinate to the CMC; leads supercomputing (Tianhe), hypersonic control, directed energy, and brain-computer interfaces.
Key Publications: Hu Dewen et al., "Electroencephalogram Decoding and Brain-Computer Interface Applications in Military Systems," Acta Automatica Sinica, 2018; "A Precision Strike Concept for Cognitive Domain Operations," Military Operations Research, 2022. -
Army Medical University (Third MMU) - 陆军军医大学 (Chongqing): Specializes in military physiology, biological defense, and extreme environmental adaptation.
Key Publications: Sr. Col. Guo Jiwei, War for Biological Dominance (制生权战争), PLA Press, 2010.
The "Seven Sons of National Defense" (MIIT Universities)
- Beihang University (BUAA) (Beijing): Military aeronautics, hypersonic flight mechanics, and UAV swarms. Pub: "Autonomous Collaborative Control and Target Allocation of Large-Scale UAV Swarms," Journal of Aeronautics, 2021.
- Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) (Beijing): Guided weapons, precision strike seekers, and electronic countermeasures. Pub: "Millimeter-Wave Radar Waveform Design for Anti-Ship Missile Seekers," IEEE Trans. Aerospace & Electronic Systems, 2020.
- Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) (Harbin): Space robotics, satellite platforms, and hypersonic aerodynamic control. Pub: "Thermal Protection Systems and Aerodynamic Steering of Hypersonic Glide Vehicles," Acta Mechanica Sinica, 2021.
- Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) (Xi'an): Scramjet propulsion, underwater acoustics, and XLUUV systems. Pub: "Long-Endurance Acoustic Navigation and Path Planning of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles," IEEE J. Oceanic Engineering, 2022.
- Harbin Engineering University (HEU) (Harbin): Naval architecture, submarine acoustics, and smart naval mines. Pub: "Wake-Homing Torpedo Detection Trajectories and Acoustic Decoy Suppression," Journal of Ship Mechanics, 2020.
- Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NUST) (Nanjing): Electromagnetic launch systems and high-power microwave pulse power. Pub: "Pulse Power Generation for Compact Platform-Mounted HPM Sources," IEEE Trans. Plasma Science, 2021.
- Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) (Nanjing): Rotorcraft mechanics, tiltrotor systems, and airborne electronic warfare. Pub: "Aeroelastic Stability in Next-Generation Tiltrotor Flight Control Software," Chinese J. Aeronautics, 2020.
Specialized Research Universities & National Laboratories
- Xidian University (Xi'an): State Key Laboratory of Antennas and Microwave Technology. Pub: "Distributed Spatial Power Synthesis and Dynamic Transmit Pattern Optimization for Satellite Clusters," IEEE Trans. Antennas & Propagation, 2021.
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) (Chengdu): Terahertz radar, semiconductor countermeasures, and microwave shielding. Pub: "Back-Door Coupling Mechanisms of High-Power Microwave Pulses into Shielded Enclosures," IEEE Trans. EMC, 2020.
- Peng Cheng Laboratory (Shenzhen): Artificial intelligence for military decision-making and cyber defense. Pub: "Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Swarm Cooperative Combat," J. Systems Engineering & Electronics, 2022.
9. Conclusion: The Diplomatic Reality Ahead of Xi’s Visit
Supported by the April 2024 command restructuring, Multi-Domain Precision Warfare, and research in the Y and Z domains, modern Chinese military strategy aims to achieve Sun Tzu’s ancient ideal: subduing the enemy without fighting. By holding domestic critical infrastructure at risk, blinding orbital conduits, out-cycling human decision loops with artificial intelligence, and challenging cognitive resolve, the PLA's 2026 posture is engineered to confront American leaders with a sobering reality: that by the time an intervention order is issued, systemic defeat has already been determined at the operational, informational, and cognitive source.
