People's Liberation Army Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, including tactical aircraft, large airlifters, and strategic bombers. It includes ground-based air defense assets, including national early-warning radars, and controls the Airborne Corps.

The PLAAF traces its origins to the establishment of a small aviation unit by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1924, during the early years of the Republic of China, which received training from the Soviet Air Forces. The formal establishment of the PLAAF occurred on 11 November 1949, following the CCP's victory in the Chinese Civil War. Early on, the PLAAF operated a mix of captured Kuomintang and Soviet aircraft, first fighting in the Korean War, primarily using the Soviet MiG-15 fighter, against the United States Air Force (USAF). The PLAAF then shifted to enhancing air defense capabilities following political decisions to limit offensive operations. The 1960s and 1970s saw strained resources and technical support from the Sino-Soviet split, while the Cultural Revolution weakened development and readiness. In the 1980s, the PLAAF was reformed via force reduction and modernizing air power technology. These efforts were somewhat hampered by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, which resulted in Western sanctions but eventually led to increased military collaboration with Russia in the 1990s.

In the 21st century, the PLAAF transitioned to more modern airpower with the acquisition of advanced aircraft like the Sukhoi Su-27 and domestic development of the Chengdu J-10. The strategic orientation of the PLAAF continued to evolve with a focus enhancing joint operational capacity with other branches of the Chinese military. With the Chengdu J-20 fighter's service in 2017, the PLAAF became the world's second air force to field an indigenous crewed stealth aircraft after the USAF; at 250 units as of 2025 it is the world's second largest stealth aircraft fleet. The PLAAF maintains the Xi'an H-6strategic bomber, including the H-6K conventional variant and H-6N variant armed with the JL-1strategic nuclear missile.