People ' s Liberation Army Air Force The People ' s Liberation Army Air Force ( PLAAF ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the People ' s Liberation Army , the armed forces of the People ' s Republic of China . The PLAAF was officially established on 11 November 1949 . As of 2014 , the PLAAF has a strength of around 398 , 000 personnel and is the largest air force in Asia . With ongoing modernisation , all older aircraft types in service are quickly being phased out and emphasis being placed on developing modern 4 . 5th generation fighters to replace them - along with 5th generation fighters in the near future . History . Korean War to the Sino - Soviet Split . The PLAAF was founded with Soviet assistance on November 11 , 1949 , shortly after the formation of the People ' s Republic of China . The PLA had operated few aircraft before that . The PLA ' s first organized air unit , the Nanyuan Flying Group , was formed only in the summer of 1949 from about 40 ex - Nationalist aircraft ; its task was to defend Beijing , the nation ' s new capital . The PLAAF fought the Korean War in Soviet - built MiG - 15 , known as the J - 2 in Chinese service , with training from Soviet instructors . The war also brought Soviet assistance for the indigenous aircraft industry . The Shenyang Aircraft Factory built the two - seat MiG - 15UTI trainer as the JJ - 2 , and during the war manufactured various components to maintain the Soviet - built fighters . This prepared them to mass - produce derivatives of Soviet aircraft under license , starting with the J - 5 ( MiG - 17 ) in 1956 , then the J - 6 ( MiG - 19 ) in 1959 , and then the J - 7 ( MiG - 21 ) in 1967 . The 1960s were a difficult time for the PLAAF . The withdrawal of Soviet aid due to the Sino - Soviet split , and the prioritization of the missile and nuclear weapon programs , caused the industry to markedly decline through 1963 . A recovery began around 1965 as J - 2s , J - 5s , and some J - 6s were provided to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War . Development of the J - 8 , China ' s first indigenous fighter , was also initiated during the 1960s . The 1980s . The PLA Air Force underwent reorganization and streamlining as part of the reduction in force begun in 1985 . Before the 1985 reorganization , the Air Force reportedly had four branches : air defense , ground attack , bomb ing , and independent air regiments . In peacetime the Air Force Directorate , under the supervision of the PLA General Staff Department , controlled the Air Force through air army headquarters located with , or in communication with , each of the seven military region headquarters . In war , control of the Air Force probably reverted to the regional commanders . In 1987 it was not clear how the reorganization and the incorporation of air support elements into the group armies affected air force organization . The largest Air Force organizational unit was the division , which consisted of 17 , 000 personnel in three regiment s . A typical air defense regiment had three squadrons of three flights ; each flight had three or four aircraft . The Air Force also had 220 , 000 air defense personnel who controlled about 100 surface - to - air missile sites and over 16 , 000 antiaircraft guns . In addition , it had a large number of early - warning , ground - control - intercept , and air - base radars manned by specialized troops organized into at least twenty - two independent regiments . In the 1980s the Air Force made serious efforts to raise the educational level and improve the training of its pilots . Superannuate d pilots were retired or assigned to other duties . All new pilots were at least middle - school graduates . The time it took to train a qualified pilot capable of performing combat missions reportedly was reduced from four or five years to two years . Training emphasized raising technical and tactical skills in individual pilots and participation in combined - arms operations . Flight safety also increased . In 1987 the Air Force had serious technological deficiencies — especially when compared with its principal threat , the Soviet Union — and had many needs that it could not satisfy . It needed more advanced aircraft , better avionics , electronic countermeasures equipment , more powerful aircraft weaponry , a low - altitude surface - to - air missile , and better controlled antiaircraft artillery guns . Some progress was made in aircraft design with the incorporation of Western avionics into the F - 7 ( MiG - 21 ) and F - 8 , the development of refueling capabilities for the B - 6D bomber and the A - 5 attack fighter , increased aircraft all - weather capabilities , and the production of the HQ - 2J high - altitude surface - to - air missile and the C - 601 air - to - ship missile . Although the PLAAF received significant support from Western nations in the 1980s when China was seen as a counterweight to Soviet power , this support ended in 1989 as a result of the Chinese crackdown on the Tiananmen protests of 1989 and the later collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 . After the fall of the USSR , Russia became China ' s principal arms supplier to the effect that Chinese economic growth allowed Russia to sustain its aerospace industry . Modernization program . In the late 1980s , the primary mission of the PLAAF was the defense of the mainland , and most aircraft were assigned to this role . A smaller number of ground attack and bomber units were assigned to Air interdiction and possibly close air support , and some bomber units could be used for nuclear delivery . The force had only limited military airlift and aerial reconnaissance capabilities . In the early 1990s , the PLAAF began a program of modernization , motivated by the collapse of the Soviet Union , as well as the possibility of military conflict with the Republic of China and perhaps also involving the United States . This process began with the acquisition of Su - 27 s in the early 1990s and the development of various fourth - generation aircraft , including the domestic J - 10 , and the FC - 1 . The PLAAF also strove to improve its pilot training and continued to retire obsolete aircraft . This resulted in a reduction of the overall number of aircraft in the PLAAF with a concurrent increase in quality of its air fleet . The 21st century has seen the continuation of the modernization program with China ' s huge economic growth . It acquired 76 Su - 30MKK ' s from 2000 to 2003 , and 24 upgraded Su - 30MK2 ' s in 2004 . It also produced around 200 J - 11 s from 2002 onwards and bought 3 batches ( at a total of 76 ) of the Su - 27SK / UBK . Production of the J - 10 fighter began in 2002 with an estimated 200 aircraft in service currently . The PLAAF also began developing its own tanker aircraft , which it previously lacked , by modifying old H - 6 bomber ( Tupolev Tu - 16 ) . In 2005 it announced plans to buy approximately 30 IL - 76 transport planes and 8 Il - 78 tanker planes , which would greatly increase its troop airlift capability and offer extended range to many aircraft , though as of 2009 this deal is still on hold . Predictions of the PLAAF ' s future aircraft fleet indicate that it will consist of large quantities of Chengdu J - 10 and Shenyang J - 11 as its main force , with J - 16 and JH - 7A as the PLAAF backbone precision strike fighters . Future stealth fighter projects such as the Chengdu J - 20 will be inducted into the air fleet in small numbers , assigned to elite PLAAF selected pilots . The transport fleet will comprise Y - 9 medium range transport aircraft , along with the Soviet Ilyushin Il - 76 , and domestic Y - 20 heavy transport aircraft . Its helicopter fleet will comprise Z - 20 , Z - 15 and Mi - 17 troop transporters , and the WZ - 10 attack helicopter for its ground forces . AWACS / AEW will be refined variants of existing service fleet of KJ - 2000 and KJ - 200 , with UAV / UCAV in early stages of service in the PLAAF . Senior Colonel Wu Guohui has said that the PLAAF is working on a stealth bomber , which some people have called the H - 18 . According to a 2015 Pentagon report , PLAAF has around 600 modern aircraft . Ranks and insignia . The ranks in the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Air Force are similar to those of the Chinese Army , formally known as the People ' s Liberation Army Ground Force , except that those of the PLA Air Force are prefixed by 空军 ( Kong Jun ) meaning Air Force . See Ranks of the People ' s Liberation Army or the article on an individual rank for details on the evolution of rank and insignia in the PLAAF . This article primarily covers the existing ranks and insignia . The markings of the PLAAF are a red star in front of a red band , it is very similar to the insignia of the Russian Air Force . The Red star contains the Chinese character s for eight and one , representing August 1 , 1927 , the date of the formation of the PLA . PLAAF aircraft carry these markings on the fins as well . Aerobatic display team . The August 1st ( aerobatic team ) is the first PLAAF aerobatics team . It was formed in 1962 . Aircraft inventory of PLAAF August Aerobatic Team includes the J - 10 and it has previously flown the JJ - 5 and J - 7 . The Sky Wing and Red Falcon air demonstration teams , which operate Nanchang CJ - 6 and Hongdu JL - 8 respectively , were established in 2011 . Organization . The Air Force headquarters consists of four departments : Command , Political , Logistic , and Equipment , which mirrors the four general departments of the PLA . Below the headquarters , Military region air forces ( MRAF ) direct divisions ( Fighter , Attack , Bomber ) , which in turn direct regiments and squadrons . The PLAAF typically used the system of threes in its organization at Division level and below , i . e . 3 Regiments per Division , 3 Squadrons per Regiment , and so on . The situation is now more fluid , with several divisions ( the 5th , 15th , 24th for example ) only having two regiments . There are also Independent Regiments within the MRAFs . There is also an Airborne Corps ( the 15th Airborne Corps ) under direct control of PLAAF Headquarters . Scramble . nl , accessed mid 2015 , indicates there are at least six regiments of H - 6 bombers . All three regiments of the 8th Bomber Division fly the aircraft - the 22nd , 23rd ( former 143rd Regt / 48th Div ) , and 24th . Also flying is the 28th Regiment of the 10th Bomber Division ( People ' s Republic of China ) and the 107th and 108th Regiments of the 36th Bomber Division . Air bases . There is presently over 150 air bases utilized by the People ' s Liberation Army Air Force , these are divided into seven military regions as follows : Equipment . The People ' s Liberation Army Air Force operates a large and varied fleet of some 3 , 010 + aircraft , of which around 2 , 100 are combat aircraft ( fighter , attack and bombers ) . According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies , PLAAF combat pilots acquire an average of 100 - 150 flying hours per year . For a list of aircraft no - longer flown by the People ' s Liberation Army Air Force see ; List of historic aircraft of the People ' s Liberation Army Air Force . Future of the People ' s Liberation Army Air Force . The People ' s Liberation Army Air Force is undergoing a period of extensive modernization . Listed below are some of the more high profile aircraft under development .