Tag
PLA Air Force
![The J-20 Challenge: Can India Bridge the Fighter Jet Gap With China? The J-20 Challenge: Can India Bridge the Fighter Jet Gap With China?](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat_2024-06-18-134354.jpg)
The J-20 Challenge: Can India Bridge the Fighter Jet Gap With China?
By Karan Sharma
In the face of an increasingly assertive China and a potentially upgraded Pakistani air force, the Indian Air Force’s modernization and expansion are imperatives for national security.
![China’s 6th Generation and Upcoming Combat Aircraft: 2024 Update China’s 6th Generation and Upcoming Combat Aircraft: 2024 Update](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat_2024-06-10-125655.jpeg)
China’s 6th Generation and Upcoming Combat Aircraft: 2024 Update
By Rick Joe
A look at where the PLA’s cutting-edge aircraft programs – from the J-XD to J-20 upgrades and the mysterious H-20 stealth bomber – stand.
![China’s J-20 Gets Another Upgrade China’s J-20 Gets Another Upgrade](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat_2023-07-31-192039.jpg)
China’s J-20 Gets Another Upgrade
By Rick Joe
Updates on the 5th-gen fighter’s WS-15 engine, new variants, and fleet size, and what it all means for the future of China’s fighter fleet.
![What a 19-Year-Old Study Tells Us About China’s J-20 What a 19-Year-Old Study Tells Us About China’s J-20](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat_2022-02-14-191934.jpg)
What a 19-Year-Old Study Tells Us About China’s J-20
By Rick Joe
A study from 2003 – now available in exclusive English translation – contains important insights on China’s fifth-generation (and beyond) fighter development.
![Right Thinking and Self-Criticisms: Military Modernization With Chinese Communist Characteristics Right Thinking and Self-Criticisms: Military Modernization With Chinese Communist Characteristics](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat_2021-09-28-20.jpg)
Right Thinking and Self-Criticisms: Military Modernization With Chinese Communist Characteristics
By Derek Solen
Political education made a major appearance at the PLA Air Force’s annual air combat competition.
![Assessing 70 Years of China’s PLA Air Force Assessing 70 Years of China’s PLA Air Force](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-xian_h-6a_china_-_air_force_jp7552070.jpg)
Assessing 70 Years of China’s PLA Air Force
By Mercy A. Kuo
Insights from Cristina Garafola.
![The FC-31, China’s ‘Other’ Stealth Fighter The FC-31, China’s ‘Other’ Stealth Fighter](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-2021-02-17-11.jpg)
The FC-31, China’s ‘Other’ Stealth Fighter
By Rick Joe
A look at the jet with many names – and its carrier-based future.
![How the Descendants of a 1950s Bomber Transformed China’s Strike Reach How the Descendants of a 1950s Bomber Transformed China’s Strike Reach](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-2020-11-17-14.jpg)
How the Descendants of a 1950s Bomber Transformed China’s Strike Reach
By Rick Joe
An overview of the H-6K family and its role in the PLA’s toolbox of strike options.
![Is China Preparing to Set Up an ADIZ in the South China Sea With Taiwan in Mind? Is China Preparing to Set Up an ADIZ in the South China Sea With Taiwan in Mind?](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-2020-11-12-7.jpg)
Is China Preparing to Set Up an ADIZ in the South China Sea With Taiwan in Mind?
By Lu Li-shih
Types of aircraft intruding in Taiwan’s Southwest Air Defense Identification Zone reveal PLA intent.
![China’s Air Force Might Be Back in the Nuclear Business China’s Air Force Might Be Back in the Nuclear Business](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-2020-09-08-13.jpg)
China’s Air Force Might Be Back in the Nuclear Business
By Roderick Lee
Circumstantial evidence suggests that China now possesses a full nuclear triad.
![China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Today and Into the 2020s China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Today and Into the 2020s](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-chinas-j-20-stealth-fighter-today-and-into-the-2020s-screen-shot-2019-08-16-at-5.02.25-pm.jpg)
China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Today and Into the 2020s
By Rick Joe
What's the current status of the J-20 and what may lie in the stealth fighter’s future going into the 2020s?
![What Are China’s Plans for its Airborne Corps? What Are China’s Plans for its Airborne Corps?](https://thediplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sizes/thumbnail/thediplomat-1200px-j-10_fighter_aircraft_20170902.jpg)
What Are China’s Plans for its Airborne Corps?
By Ying Yu Lin
What the reshuffling of top leadership tells us about the future development of PLA aviation.
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