War Analysis: Could China’s Air Force Compete With & Rival the US Air Force & Navy in the Sky?

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

China is adding carriers, destroyers and amphibs at a staggering pace, now operates the world’s largest Navy, and has an active duty combat force of more than 2 million people, nearly twice the size of the U.S.

China can also now fire hypersonic weapons, anti-satellite missiles and is quickly building new ICBM silos to support as many as 700 deliverable nuclear warheads, according to the Pentagon’s 2021 China report. 

2021 “Report on Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China.” 

Certainly much attention continues to be paid to the Chinese Navy, space capabilities, computing and hypersonics, a fact which might make it easy to overlook a serious and fast-growing Chinese air threat of great strategic relevance to the Pacific. 

People’s Liberation Army Air Force

Many have heard of China’s fast-emerging 5th-generation stealth fighter fleet, drones and H-20 bomber, but just how does the PLAAF compare when it comes to Air Power? 

The Chinese Air Force is cited in the DoD as being the third largest in the world and the largest in the Pacific region. The Pentagon’s China report also states that the country operates roughly 2,250 combat aircraft and Globalfirepower.com’s 2021 assessment states the country operates just above 1,200 fighter aircraft. 

The lack of overwhelming numbers of air assets, particularly 5th-generation planes, may explain why China continues to place such an enormous emphasis on Naval domination.