Social media videos of ‘PLA jet rehearsals’ heighten buzz over China’s Victory Day parade

Clips seen as providing early glimpse of scale and symbolism expected when China marks its 80th World War II Victory Day on September 3

Videos circulating on Chinese social media that appear to show rehearsals for a major military parade are providing an early glimpse of the scale and symbolism expected when China marks the 80th anniversary of its Victory Day in September .

On Wednesday, a clip posted to the Instagram-like platform RedNote - also known as Xiaohongshu - showed at least 45 People's Liberation Army helicopters flying in formation.

The aircraft formed ceremonial patterns, including a heart, the numbers "8" and "0", and also flew in groups of three, with each carrying red flags representing the Communist Party, the nation and the PLA. This was taken by many as a clear reference to the coming anniversary on September 3.

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A similar aerial flag guard formation opened the Victory Day parade over Tiananmen Square a decade ago . It commemorated the 70th anniversary of China's victory in World War II, officially termed the "Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War".

Also on Wednesday, more images- including high-definition photos purportedly showing China's J-35 stealth jets with the serial numbers 3501, 3505, and 3506 - emerged on the platforms Weibo and X.

The fighters were pictured flying in formation with several J-15T carrier-based fighter jets, hinting at their potential inclusion in the coming parade, according to the social media user who posted the images.

These sightings, some dating back to April, underscore the increasing public visibility of parade preparations and widespread anticipation surrounding the national event.

The frequency of such rehearsal video posts intensified in May. They prominently featured military aircraft formations, including J-20 stealth fighters, H-6N bombers, KJ-600 early-warning aircraft, Y-20 tankers, and helicopters forming the number "8".

Videos and photos of tanks moving in formation and of marching drills have also surfaced online, suggesting intensive training is under way for the ground contingents - including military vehicles and equipment. They are expected to march along Beijing's Changan Avenue, as in the 2015 parade.

The South China Morning Post first reported on preparations for the rare parade in February.

President Xi Jinping officially confirmed this year's parade when he met his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing on June 4.

According to BelTa, the official news agency of Belarus, Xi invited Lukashenko to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and a parade in Beijing between late August and early September.

"A SCO summit will take place in Tianjin at the end of August. A little later, on September 3, we will hold a parade to celebrate the victory of the global fight against fascism. I invite you to attend and will be glad to see you there," Xi was quoted as saying by BelTA, marking the first time the Chinese leadership had publicly acknowledged plans for the parade.

Other heads of state expected to attend the SCO summit in the city near Beijing include Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was likely to be present at the parade, diplomatic sources earlier told the Post.

This parade will be only the second time that China has specifically commemorated victory over Japan with such an event. The 2015 event under Xi was the first high-profile military parade dedicated to Victory Day, rather than China's National Day on October 1.

Traditionally, China's largest military displays were held on National Day every 10 years, making the September 3 event a relatively recent but significant addition to China's commemorative calendar.

The exact scale of the 2025 parade remains undisclosed.

The 2015 Victory Day parade featured 12,000 PLA troops, over 500 vehicles, nearly 200 aircraft, and more than 1,000 foreign troops from 17 countries.

The coming parade could also serve as a platform for China to counter perceived US-led Western influence, reinforcing narratives on defending the post-World War II global order against "hegemony" and "unilateralism", themes Xi articulated in an article for Russian state media during his visit to Moscow for Russia's Victory Day parade last month.

The 2015 event was a major showcase for the PLA's modernisation, with an estimated 84 per cent of the equipment newly introduced since the 2009 National Day parade.

This included the public debut of the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, a weapon system explicitly designed to function as a carrier killer and counter American naval power in the Western Pacific.

There is heightened anticipation of potential new weapons being unveiled in this year's parade as well.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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