Air Force of China: photo, composition, strength. Air Force planes of China. Air Force of China in World War II

Currently, the Air Force of China, numbering 350,000, is the third largest in the world in terms of the number of combat aircraft , second only to the United States and Russia. Of the latest published statistics, it is known that their arsenal includes 4,500 military aircraft and 350 auxiliary aircraft. In addition, in the arms of the Middle Kingdom there are about 150 helicopters and a significant amount of air defense.

The birth of Chinese military aviation

In 1949, after triumphantly ending the civil war, the new leadership of China decided to establish the Air Force in the country. The date of signing the government decree, November 11, is considered the birthday of Chinese military aviation. The Soviet Union only helped the military industry that had just begun its development, having organized its own aircraft production in the enterprises of China since the mid-fifties.

However, the subsequent cultural revolution and, as a consequence, the international isolation provoked by it, significantly slowed down the development of the country's industry. This caused great damage and the Air Force of China. But, despite all the difficulties, in the sixties, their military engineers developed a number of domestic combat vehicles that met all the technical requirements of those years.

In the nineties, there is a period of active modernization of the Chinese armed forces. During these years, Russia supplied its eastern neighbor with a large batch of multifunctional Su-30 fighters, as well as a license for the production of the Su-27. Having thoroughly studied the design of these combat vehicles, they developed and established their own airplanes for the Chinese Air Force on their basis (the photo of the original model can be seen at the beginning of the article).

The experience gained in the war with Japan and in subsequent years

The armed conflict between China and Japan, which began in 1931 and subsequently evolved into a full-scale war, became part of the tragedy of the 20th century. The Air Force of China in the Second World War, according to various estimates, involved about a hundred aircraft and could not represent any serious military force. However, one can not deny their contribution to the defeat of militaristic Japan and the return of Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pescadores.

For the period that has passed since the day of its foundation, the Chinese Air Force has accumulated a certain experience of conducting military operations. In particular, they took part in the Korean War of 1950-1953, fighting side by side with the aviation units of North Korea and forming a joint air army with them.

When several American unmanned reconnaissance planes invaded their airspace during the Vietnam War , they were immediately shot down. This clearly demonstrated the rather high level of combat readiness of Chinese pilots. However, for a number of reasons, aviation was practically not involved in the military conflict with Vietnam in 1979.

Military Aviation Units

By its composition, the Chinese Air Force does not differ much from the air forces of other modern developed countries. They include all traditional units, for example, such as bomber aviation, assault, fighter, reconnaissance and military transport. In addition, they include parts of air defense, radio-technical and amphibious forces.

The Supreme Command of all the Armed Forces of China is carried out by the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army. It includes the headquarters of the Air Force, which is headed by the commander-in-chief. Since October 2012, this post is held by Ma Xiaotian. An important role in the command is also assigned to the Commissioner. Currently, he is Tien Shusa.

The territory of modern China is divided into seven military districts. Each of them includes a grouping of air forces, the commander of which is subordinated directly to the district headquarters. Such units consist of aviation divisions, separate regiments and academies, which train personnel and technical personnel.

Aviation divisions are large tactical formations, which consist of several aviation regiments, divided into squadrons, each of which consists of three separate links. In bomber aviation, the link is represented, as a rule, by three aircraft. In the assault and fighter, their number increases to four. In addition to combat vehicles, in each regiment there are several training aircraft of various classes. In general, the regiment can have 20-40 aircraft units.

Currently, China has built more than four hundred airfields, of which three hundred and fifty have high-tech hard coating. This reserve is enough to accommodate nine thousand units of aircraft, which is three times the entire aviation fleet of the state.

The role of aviation in the "nuclear triad"

The main component of the Armed Forces of modern powers is the atomic weapon, which by its structure can be conditionally divided into three main components, which have been given the name of the "nuclear triad" for military strategists. They consist primarily of land-based missile systems - both stationary mine and mobile mobile.

In addition, these are cruise and ballistic missiles launched from submarines. And finally, the most important role is assigned to strategic aviation capable of delivering aeroballic or cruise missiles to the area. In the aggregate of all these factors, which constitute the strategic nuclear potential of the state, international analysts call China the third superpower.

The need for the development of strategic aviation

All three components of the triad mentioned above are in the hands of the PRC, but the level of strategic aviation in the country leaves much to be desired. It should be noted that if in such European countries as Britain and France, the insufficient development of this type of air force does not constitute a serious problem (due to their relatively small territory), in China the picture is completely different.

Celestial is a huge state, constantly surrounded by potential adversaries. Even such a friendly neighbor as Russia can not provide the Chinese with security of borders, since it itself has a sufficiently large number of dangerous strategic directions. In this regard, China has created the conditions under which capital investments in the development of strategic aviation have acquired special significance.

Potential adversary of China

It so happened that in the future one of the most probable enemies of the Chinese leadership is America. It is from her fear of a possible blow. In this regard, considerable efforts are being made to create new and modernize the weapons of antimissile and antiaircraft defense, as well as the Chinese Air Force.

Fighter of the fifth generation, able to be invisible to enemy radars, was one of such developments. Also the result of such efforts was the creation of a large fleet of aircraft carriers, whose task is to deter the attack of potential adversaries from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. On them there are decked fighters of the Air Force of China. The ports of registration for the newly built vessels have been modernized and expanded accordingly.

Works on the creation of new technology

In recent years, the media reported that Chinese designers are carrying out promising developments of a new strategic bomber capable of delivering nuclear charges for a distance of seven thousand kilometers. This range of flight is especially important because it allows you to reach the territory of the United States. At the same time, as the competent sources indicate, the new model will be very similar to the American B-2 Spirit bomber, which to a large extent should complicate its detection.

To strategic aviation in China, special requirements are imposed, because of the geographical location of the country, its use involves a number of difficulties. The fact is that all possible targets are at a very considerable distance. Up to Alaska, for example, five thousand kilometers, and to the US coast - eight. To achieve this, the Air Force of China must cross the Pacific Ocean, in which US aircraft carriers are equipped for combat duty, equipped with a powerful arsenal. In recent years, they have been supplemented by space weapons of war.

Experts calculated that if the war begins, the air force of China will not be able to enter the area of military launch of missiles on the territory of America, since the US Navy will be able to destroy them using the latest Aegis air defense system. In addition, they will be resisted by powerful deck aviation. In this regard, the only opportunity for the Chinese Air Force to cope with US air defense is the development and creation of new aircraft, with a fantastic, in our time, range - from ten to twelve thousand kilometers. There are no such military machines yet in any army of the world.

Some examples of weapons of the Air Force of China

Military analysts are also building a number of assumptions about the possible development of a medium-range bomber in China. This idea was prompted in 2013 by the refusal to purchase thirty-six Russian Tu-22 M3 aircraft intended for the delivery of missile-and-bomb weapons for relatively short distances. At present, it is known that the Air Force of China includes about one hundred and twenty combat vehicles of this class, and the need for them is quite obvious.

Today, China's aviation fleet includes a number of modern aircraft. Speaking of them, we should highlight a few of the most interesting models. First of all, it is an intermediate-range bomber H-6K. A completely modern machine, which is a sample of advanced engineering thought. To strategic missile carriers it can not be attributed only because of some limited speed.

The plane, created under the Soviet license

Another combat vehicle, which is in service with the Chinese Air Force, is Tu-16. This is an airplane built on the basis of a license agreement with Russia. Especially for him, Chinese designers have developed a new advanced engine, equipped with economical turbofans. Thanks to him, aircraft are able to develop a significantly higher speed (up to 1060 km per hour) and reach heights of thirteen thousand meters. This development allowed to equip the air force aircraft of China with new CI-10A missiles, having a range of flight from five and a half to six thousand kilometers. Of course, this will open up new, previously unused opportunities for them.

Military experts agree that at present the strategic bombers of the Air Force of China are very limited by the geography of their application. For them, only the coasts of Australia, Alaska, as well as part of the territory of Asia and Europe are available, whereas their main potential adversaries-Americans are still out of reach. The latest Chinese development of the bomber, code-named H-20, should solve this problem.

Fighter aircraft in service with China

Speaking of the air force of the Celestial Empire, one can not help but stop at its fighter aviation. Despite the fact that its park has received a large number of J-10 and J-11 military vehicles in recent years, it is believed that the J-7 is the main fighter of the Chinese Air Force. According to analysts, the number of these planes is about four hundred units, plus about forty training materials created on their basis. The history of their appearance in the Armed Forces of the country is very noteworthy.

It is known that at the very beginning of the sixties the Soviet Union and China were in friendly relations, and cooperation was established between them in many areas of the national economy, as well as in the military industry. In 1961, the Soviet side was given to China a license to manufacture the latest, at that time, MiG-21 fighter and all its equipment. However, a year later the well-known cultural revolution began, which caused the international isolation of China and the severance of its relations with the Soviet Union.

As a result, the government of the USSR canceled the already issued license and withdrew from the country all its specialists engaged in its implementation. A year later, realizing that the Soviet Union could not be dispensed with, Mao Tse-tung went on rapprochement with our country, as a result of which cooperation was again restored for a while.

NS Khrushchev agreed to continue work on the introduction of the licensed MiG-21 airplane into production for the Chinese Air Force. In January 1966, the first fully assembled J-7 fighter, created under the license of the Soviet MiG-21 fighter, was tested. Despite the fact that almost half a century has passed, this aircraft has not been removed from the armament of the Chinese Air Force. The photo is presented below.

The relationship between countries at the present stage

At present, despite the outwardly regulated relations between Russia and China, many analysts tend to see a potential threat in our eastern neighbor. The fact is that the territory of the Celestial Empire is extremely overpopulated, which means that it is possible that with constantly increasing numbers of residents and rapidly developing industry, neighbors may well be tempted to solve their problems by expanding the Asian part of Russia. In this regard, the Armed Forces of both states, including the Air Force of China and Russia, are in constant combat readiness. Unfortunately, this form of "armed friendship" is in the modern world an objective reality.