PLAAF Equipment

The Chinese air force has rid itself of many elderly aircraft, and acquired a few modern units. The total number of Chinese fighter aircraft has apparently decreased by one-third over the past five years, from about 4,000 to about 2,500. Force improvements have been limited almost exclusively to the addition of a few dozen first-rate Su-27s purchased from Russia, with the remaining inventory consisting of obsolete designs which date from the 1960s. The large force of J-6 and J-7 aircraft [Chinese-equivalent MiG-19s and MiG-21s] are so antiquated as to be useless against Taiwan's F-16s and Mirage 2000s. The PLA Air Force has no in-flight refueling tankers or airborne warning and command platforms in service, though both are under development. As of early 1998, some 1,300 aircraft were stationed at the air bases within 500 nautical miles from Taiwan, of which some 600 airplanes had a radius of operation over Taiwan proper.

Aircraft		Source	Armament	Inventory
Aircraft		Source	Armament	1985	1995	2000	2005	2010
BOMBERS				620	500	320	120	100
H-9				0	0	0	0	???
H-6	BADGER	Tu-16	YJ-6	120	120	120	120	? 100
H-5	BEAGLE	Il-28	YJ-8	500	380	200	? 0	? 0
ATTACK				500	500	450	325	300
JH-7			YJ-8 + PL-8	0	0	0	25	150
Q-5	FANTAN			500	500	450	300	150
FIGHTER				4,130	4,050	2,500	2,000	1,800
J-12				0	0	0	0	0
J-11	FLANKER	Su-27	AA-11	0	46	48	72	144
J-10		Lavi	PL-7 / PL-10	0	0	0	0	300
J-9 / FC-1		MiG-33	PL-7 / PL-10	0	0	0	50	200
J-8	FINBACK		PL-2 / PL-7 / PL-9	30	100	150	400	650
J-7	FISHBED	MiG-21	PL-2 / PL-7	200	500	500	500	500
J-6	FARMER	MiG-19	PL-1 / PL-2	3000	3000	1800	1000	0
J-5	FRESCO	MiG-17	PL-1	400	400	0	0	0
J-4	FAGOT	MiG-15		500	0	0	0	0
HELICOPTERS				400	400	210	225	250
TRANSPORTS				550	485	425	425	400

Sources and Resources

PLA Air Force Organization by Sidney Trevethan
PLA Aviation Corp Organization by Sidney Trevethan
PLA Navy Air Force Organization By Sidney Trevethan
PLA Air Force Order of Battle By Sidney Trevethan [PLAAF, PLA Aviation Corps & PLA Civil Air Guard (Excluding Most Light Planes)] Last Updated on 21 Mar 2000
Sukhoi Family Aircraft in PLA Service by Sidney Trevethan, updated February 26, 2004 [MS Word file]
Aviation of the People's Liberation Army, China-Military.org
An Assessment of the Chinese Air Threat to India in the Year 2000 K.S. China
Modernizing China's Air Force: Its Strategy, Budget, and Capabilities Patricia M. Fornes
Modernisation of the Chinese Air Force A.K. Sachdev, Research Fellow, IDSA Strategic Analysis September 1999 Vol XXIII No. 6

FAS | Nuke | Guide | China | Agency | PLAAF |||| Search |

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/agency/plaaf-equip.htm
Maintained by Webmaster
Updated November 15, 2002