The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The PLAAF was officially established on 11 November 1949 and it is composed of 5 branches which are

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

, anti-aircraft artillery, surface-to-air missiles (SAM),

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

, and Airborne Corps. The PLAAF first faced combat in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

against the United States using primarily the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter aircraft, aircraft provided by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, which also assisted with the expansion of the Chinese aerospace industry. Changes in the organization of the PLAAF followed by modernization programs in the 1990s and increased technology development in the 21st century has created the J-20 stealth multirole fighter, the first of its kind for China.

History

Korean War to the Sino-Soviet Split

The PLA's first organized air unit, was formed in July 1949 at

Beijing Nanyuan Airport Beijing Nanyuan Airport was a military airbase and a secondary commercial airport of Beijing. Located in Fengtai District, south of the 4th Ring Road and from Tiananmen Square, Nanyuan Airport was first opened in 1910, making it the olde ...

. It consisted of six P-51s, two

Mosquitoes Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small Diptera, flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish ...

, and two PT-19s. On 25 October 1949,

Liu Yalou Liu Yalou (; April 1910 – 7 May 1965) was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army who served as the inaugural commander-in-chief of the PLA Air Force During the Chinese Civil War, he was chief of staff of Lin Biao's army group, whi ...

was appointed as the chief of air force in the People's Liberation Army. By 11 November, the air force command was officially formed from the headquarters of Liu Yalou's 14th ''bingtuan'' (which Witson translates as "Army"). The process was aided by significant Soviet assistance. The air force expanded rapidly during the

. Two brigades were created in 1950, but disbanded in the early 1950s and replaced by

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

; both had subordinate regiments.Trevethan (2019): pg. 8 During the war, 26 divisions and a smaller number of independent regiments and schools were created by personnel transfers from the army; the air force inherited the army's organization and was commanded by army officers.Xiang (2012): pg. 73 By early 1954, there were 28 divisions, with 70 regiments, and five independent regiments operating 3000 aircraft. The Soviets provided Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft (J-2 in Chinese service), training, and support for developing the domestic aviation industry.

Shenyang Aircraft Corporation Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) or Shenyang Aerospace Corporation is a Chinese civilian and military aircraft manufacturer located in Shenyang, Liaoning, a subsidiary of the state-owned aircraft manufacturer AVIC. Founded in 1951 as the cl ...

built the two-seat MiG-15UTI trainer as the JJ-2, and during the war manufactured various components to maintain the Soviet-built fighters. By 1956 the People's Republic was assembling copies of MiG-15s and eight years later was producing both the

Shenyang J-5 The Shenyang J-5 ( Chinese: 歼-5) ( NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designa ...

(MiG-17) and the

Shenyang J-6 The Shenyang J-6 ( Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and ...

(MiG-19) under license. The PLAAF emerged from the war as an air defence force. The main role was to support the army by achieving air superiority using fighters, radar, and ground-based weapons.Xiang (2012): pg. 73-74 This was reinforced through the 1950s and 1960s when the PLAAF's main activities were skirmishing with the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

near the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a ...

, and intercepting American aircraft. The bombing role was neglected due to the underestimation of the significant of air power during the war; the Chinese were impressed that they had suffered more casualties from ground fire rather than from bombing.Xiang (2012): pg. 74 From the Korean to the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1978, which ended the rule of the C ...

, PLAAF bombing missions were restrained by technical capability and political concerns over escalation.Xiang (2012): pg. 76-77 The 1960s were a difficult time for the PLAAF. Modernization and development was severely impacted by political and economic chaos of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, the Great Leap Forward, and the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...

.''Lumbering Forward'': pg. 23 The prioritization of missile and nuclear weapon programs crippled the aviation industry, which markedly declined through 1963. A recovery began around 1965 as J-2s, J-5s, and some J-6s were provided to

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Development of the

Shenyang J-8 The Shenyang J-8 ( Chinese: 歼-8; NATO reporting name: Finback) is an interceptor aircraft developed by the 601 Institute (Shenyang) in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was conceived in the early 1960s as a low-risk program based on e ...

, China's first indigenous fighter, was also initiated during the 1960s. Between January 1954 and 1971, 22 divisions were created for a total of 50.

1980s and modernization

Force reductions led to reorganization and streamlining starting in 1985. Before the 1985 reorganization, the Air Force reportedly had four branches: air defense,

ground attack In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...

, bombing, and independent air regiments. In peacetime the Air Force Directorate, under the supervision of the

PLA General Staff Department The Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (JSDCMC) () is the command organ and the headquarters for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), superseding the former PLA General Staff Department (GSD). It was established on 11 J ...

, controlled the Air Force through headquarters located with, or in communication with, each of the seven

military region Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

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

, which consisted of 17,000 personnel in three

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

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 AA guns. In addition, it had a large number of early-warning, ground-control-intercept, and air-base radars operated 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 A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

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 Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...

also increased. From 1986 to 1988, each military region converted a division into a division-level transition training base (改装训练基地),Allen (2012): pg 104 which replaced training regiments in operational divisions.Trevethan (2019): pg. 16 In 1987 the Air Force had serious technological deficiencies — especially when compared with its principal threat, the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

— and had many needs that it could not satisfy. It needed more advanced aircraft, better

avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...

electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

equipment, more powerful

aircraft weaponry This is a list of weapons (aircraft ordnance) carried by aircraft. Guns In World War I, aircraft were initially intended for aerial reconnaissance, however some pilots began to carry rifles in case they spotted enemy planes. Soon, planes were fi ...

, a low-altitude surface-to-air missile, and better controlled

antiaircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

guns. Some progress was made in aircraft design with the incorporation of Western avionics into the

Chengdu J-7 The Chengdu J-7 (Chinese: 歼-7; third generation export version F-7; NATO reporting name: Fishcan) is a People's Republic of China fighter aircraft. It is a license-built version of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, and thus shares many s ...

and

, the development of refueling capabilities for the

B-6D The Xian H-6 () is a twin-engine jet bomber of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The H-6 is a license-built version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 and remains the primary bomber aircraft of the People's Republic of China. Del ...

bomber and the A-5 attack fighter, increased aircraft all-weather capabilities, and the production of the

HQ-2J HQ-2J or Hongqi-2 (红旗二号导弹) are anti-aircraft missiles mounted on the Type 77 transporter launcher. It is an upgraded version of the HQ-2 system. The HQ-1/HQ-2 are developed from the Soviet SA-2, S-75 Dvina SA-2 system. The HQ-2 has be ...

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 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Four ...

and the later collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. After the fall of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

became China's principal arms supplier, to the extent that Chinese economic growth allowed Russia to sustain its aerospace industry.

1990s to 2000s

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

and

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

units were assigned to

Air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of ...

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 Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of i ...

capabilities. In the early 1990s, the PLAAF began a program of modernization, motivated by the collapse of the

, as well as the possibility of military conflict with the Republic of China and perhaps also involving the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. This process began with the acquisition of Su-27s in the early 1990s and the development of various fourth-generation aircraft, including the domestic J-10, and the

FC-1 The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder ( ur , جے ایف-17 گرج), or FC-1 ''Xiaolong'' (), is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautica ...

. 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 the quality of its air fleet. In the 2000s, there were approximately 30 combat divisions, and 2 transport divisions. The 21st century has seen the continuation of the modernization program with China's huge economic growth. It acquired 76

Su-30MKK The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO reporting name: Flanker-G)MKK stands for Russian ''Mnogofunktzionniy Kommercheskiy Kitayski'' (Cyrillic: Многофунктзионний Коммерческий Китайски), "Multifunctional Commercial for C ...

's from 2000 to 2003, and 24 upgraded

Su-30MK2 The Sukhoi Su-1 or I-330 (russian: Сухой Су-1) was a prototype Soviet high-altitude fighter aircraft built at the beginning of World War II. An improved version, designated Su-3 (I-360), was also built and tested the following year. Neit ...

's in 2004. It also produced around 200 J-11s 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 This is a list of tanker aircraft used for aerial refuelling of another aircraft whilst in powered flight. Refueling methods ;Looped hose: The first commercial method employed a hose which was held slack in a trailing half-loop behind both air ...

, which it previously lacked, by modifying the old H-6 bomber (

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

). In 2005 it announced plans to buy approximately 30

IL-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comme ...

transport planes and 8

Il-78 The Ilyushin Il-78 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-78; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter. Design and development The Soviet Union's first dedicated tan ...

tanker planes, which would greatly increase its troop airlift capability and offer an 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 The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird), is a medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft capable of all-weather operations, configured with a delta wing and canard design, with fly-by-wire flight contr ...

and

Shenyang J-11 The Shenyang J-11 ( Chinese: 歼-11; NATO reporting name Flanker-B, -L) is a twin-engine jet fighter of the People's Republic of China whose airframe is derived from the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27. It is manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft ...

as its main force, with

J-16 The Shenyang J-16 ( Chinese: 歼-16) is a Chinese advanced fourth-generation, tandem-seat, twinjet, multirole strike fighterBronk, page 38 developed from the Shenyang J-11 (itself derived from the Sukhoi Su-27) and built by Shenyang Aircraft Co ...

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 The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng () is a large military transport aircraft developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation for the People's Republic of China (PRC). The aircraft is nicknamed "Chubby Girl" () in the Chinese aviation industry becau ...

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 the existing service fleet of

KJ-2000 The KJ-2000 (), NATO reporting name: Mainring is a Chinese Airborne early warning and control system comprising domestically designed electronics and radars installed on a modified Ilyushin Il-76 airframe. Development The KJ-2000 developme ...

and

KJ-200 The KJ-200 (Chinese: 空警-200; pinyin: Kōngjǐng Liǎngbǎi; literally: "Airwarn-200") NATO reporting name: Moth or Y-8 Balance Beam system, is an Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation. ...

, with UAV/UCAV in the early stages of service in the PLAAF.

2010s

Senior Colonel Wu Guohui has said that the PLAAF is working on a

stealth bomber Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Nig ...

, which some people have called the H-18. According to a 2015 Pentagon report, PLAAF has around 600 modern aircraft. Lt Gen Xu Anxiang, PLAAF Deputy Commander, revealed the PLAAF has a multiphase roadmap for building a strong, modern air force. He said the building of a strategic force by 2020 would integrate aviation, space power, strike and defense capabilities. When this goal is achieved, the PLAAF's fourth-generation jet fighters will make up the backbone of the Air Force's arsenal and J-16 along with J-10 would be main stay of PLAAF. Gen Xu also said information-based combat capabilities will be enhanced.

Personnel

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 The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...

, 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 Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanj ...

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.

Commanders

(October 1949 – May 1965) * Wu Faxian (May 1965 – September 1971) * Ma Ning (May 1973 – February 1977) * Zhang Tingfa (April 1977 – July 1985) *

Wang Hai Wang Hai (; 19 January 1926 – 2 August 2020) was a Chinese fighter pilot and general. A flying ace of the Korean War, he served as commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from 1985 to 1992. He was awarded the rank of gener ...

(July 1985 – November 1992) * Cao Shuangming (November 1992 – October 1994) * Yu Zhenwu (October 1994 – November 1996) *

Liu Shunyao Liu Shunyao (; 1939 – 30 December 2002) was a Chinese pilot and general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). He served as commander of the Lanzhou Military Region Air Force, deputy commander of the PLAAF (1994–1996), and comma ...

(November 1996 – May 2002) *

Qiao Qingchen Qiao Qingchen (born 1939 in Zhengzhou, Henan) is a Chinese Air Force general who served as the commander of the PLA Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the Peo ...

(May 2002 – September 2007) *

Xu Qiliang Xu Qiliang (; born March 1950) is an air force general in the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as a Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of ...

(September 2007 – October 2012) * Ma Xiaotian (October 2012 – August 2017) * Ding Laihang (August 2017 – September 2021) *

Chang Dingqiu Chang Dingqiu (; born January 1967) is a general ('' shangjiang'') of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) serving as Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, succeeding Ding Laihang in September 2021. He is a member of the 20th Central ...

(September 2021 – present)

Structure

Headquarters

The highest leadership organization is PLAAF Headquarters (PLAAF HQ). PLAAF HQ's peacetime responsibilities are force generation, modernization, and operational control of some units like the Airborne Corps and the 34th Air Transport Division.Allen (2012): pg 109 PLAAF HQ contains four first-level departments: the Staff (formerly Headquarters), Political Work (formerly Political), Logistics, and Equipment Department.Allen (2012): pg 99 The Staff Department () manages the PLAAF organizational structure, personnel management, intelligence, communications, air traffic control, weather support, development of air force military theory, and air force education and safety. The Staff Department is lead by the chief of staff who is the "principal organizer and coordinator of military operations." The Staff Department's chief of staff has a number of deputy chiefs of staff. Previously known as the Headquarters Department, the post-2016 Staff Department maintains a number of subordinate bureaus () including the Operations Bureau, Information and Communications Bureau, Training Bureau, Ground-based Air Defense Bureau,

Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

Bureau, Pilot Recruitment Bureau, Flight Safety Bureau, Test Flight Bureau, Aviation Bureau, Confidential Bureau, Unit Management Bureau, and Planning and Organization Bureau. The Political Work Department (), sometimes abbreviated PWD, is responsible for managing propaganda, security, political education, personnel records, civil-military relations, party discipline, party organizations within the PLAAF, and cultural activities to include song and dance troups or public events. The Political Work Department is led by a director () and at least two deputy directors (). Subordinate to the department include bureaus such as a Cadre Bureau, Propaganda Bureau, and a Soldier and Civilian Personnel Bureau. The Logistics Department (, led by a director and political commissar, oversee the PLAAF's logistics to include transportation, materials, supplies, finance, medical care, and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

, oil and lubricants (POL). Since the 2016 reform, subordinate bureaus include a Finance Bureau, Transport and Delivery Bureau, Procurement and Supply Bureau, Air Force National Defense Engineering Development Command Bureau, Real Estate Management Bureau, Ordnance General-use Equipment Bureau, Military Facilities Construction Bureau, Combat Service Planning Bureau, Materials Bureau, and Audit Bureau. The Equipment Department (), originally the Air Force Engineering Department, manages the PLAAF's cradle-to-death lifecycle including repair and maintenance of the branch's weapons systems and instruments. Led by a director and political commissar, the department leads bureaus to include the Comprehensive Planning Bureau, Airfield Support Bureau, Scientific Research and Procurement Bureau, Major Type/Model Bureau, Project Management Bureau, Equipment Purchasing Bureau, Testing and Inspection Bureau, Armament General-use Equipment Bureau, Flight Safety Bureau, and Aviation Equipment Bureau.

Commands

Below PLAAF HQ are the Theater Command Air Forces (TCAF), successors the Military Region Air Forces (MRAF) in 2016.Trevethan (2019): pg. 6 Before 2003, MRAF had subordinate air corps and Bases which exercised direct control over units in their area of responsibility (AOR); MRAF only directly controlled fighter and ground attack divisions in the same province as MRAF headquarters (MRAF HQ). From 2004, leadership of units was consolidated in MRAF HQ, with air corps and Bases downgraded to command posts that acted on behalf of MRAF HQ.Trevethan (2019): pg. 11 From 2012 onwards, the command posts were mostly replaced by Bases that exercised command and control over units (brigades) in their AOR and conducted joint exercises.Trevethan (2019): pg. 11-12 Below TCAF/MRAF and the air corps/command posts/Bases are corps, division, brigade, and regimental level units (). The first divisions in the 1950s was organized into a HQ and two or three regiments. In 1953, this was standardized to three regiments per division,Trevethan (2019): pg. 9 including one training regiment. Regiments had three or four flight groups, each in turn made of three or four squadrons. Between 1964 and 1970, regiments were called groups. In the late 1980s, operational squadrons lost their training regiments. By 2010, many divisions had only two regiments. In 2019, the bomber, transport, and specialized divisions had not been reorganized into brigades and remained under the control of PLAAF HQ and TCAF headquarters.Trevethan (2019): pg. 1 New multifunction brigades were formed starting in 2011. Brigades contain several subordinate flight groups; a flight group has one type of aircraft.Allen (2012): pg 104 All fighter and ground attack divisions and regiments were reorganized into air force brigades, organized into a brigade HQ and the flight groups organized under it. Everything from battalions to squads are considered subunits ().Allen (2012): pg 109-110

Order of battle

* PLAAF Headquarters ** Staff Department ** Political Work Department ** Logistics Department ** Equipment Department * Directly-reporting units ** Experimental Training Base ** Flight Test Training Base ** Research Institute ** Airborne Training Base ** Command Academy ** Engineering University ** Aviation University ** Early Warning Academy ** Harbin Flight Academy ** Shijiazhuang Flight Academy ** Xi'an Flight Academy **

Medical University A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

** Service Academy ** Communications Sergeants Academy ** 66th Blue Brigade * Eastern Theater Command Air Force *

Southern Theater Command Air Force The Southern Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Southern Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The current commander is and the current political commissar is Xu Xisheng. History On 1 February 2016, th ...

Western Theater Command Air Force The Western Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Western Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Chengdu, Sichuan. The current commander is Wang Qiang and the current political commissar is . History On 1 February 2016, the fou ...

Northern Theater Command Air Force The Northern Theater Command Air Force is the air force under the Northern Theater Command. Its headquarters is in Shenyang, Liaoning. The current commander is Li Qiaoming and the current political commissar is Fan Xiaojun. History On 1 Februar ...

* Central Theater Command Air Force

Airbases

The PLAAF has over 150 air bases distributed across each theater command.

Aerobatic display team

The

August 1st (aerobatic team) The August 1st or Ba Yi Aerobatics Team () is the aerobatic demonstration team of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It was founded in 1962 and named after the date of founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), August 1, 1927. ...

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 The Nanchang CJ-6 () is a Chinese basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the Nanchang Aircraft Factory (now Hongdu Aviation) for use by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Development The CJ-6 (Chu Jiao 初教 = Chuji Jiaoli ...

and

Hongdu JL-8 The Hongdu JL-8 (Nanchang JL-8), also known as the Karakorum-8 or K-8 for short, is a two-seat intermediate jet trainer and a light attack aircraft designed in the People's Republic of China by China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporatio ...

respectively, were established in 2011.

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 The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

, 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.