People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force

History

Historically, the PLANAF's main role has been to provide the navy's warships with air defense coverage. Part of the coastal defense doctrine was to have naval aircraft protecting the ships, hence the reason why many PLA ships of the 1960s–70s lacked long range anti-aircraft missiles or artillery. During the Sino-Vietnamese War, the PLANAF carried out many successful bombing and airstrike missions against Vietnamese territories, such as in the Spratly Islands. The 1960s saw a series of air combat sorties flown against the Republic of China Air Force. PLANAF pilots have been credited with many major victories over the Taiwanese in these small incidents. Historical aircraft operated by the PLANAF include the J-5, the J-6, and H-5. These aircraft have been retired by the late 1990s.

A PLANAF J-15 made the first landing on Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, on 25 November 2012.

According to the Department of the Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) the PLANAF had around 2016 a major restructuring into a brigade structure.

The PLANAF has often deployed shipborne helicopters to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2023, the PLANAF transferred maritime strike, bomber, and most fighter units to the People's Liberation Army Air Force, including at least 3 fighter brigades, 2 bomber regiments, 3 radar brigades, 3 air defense brigades, and some airbases. It retained its carrier aircraft, a fighter brigade with J-11B/BS, helicopters, UAVs, and other special purpose aircraft.

Organization

• , North Sea Fleet
• , East Sea Fleet
• , South Sea Fleet
• PLA Naval Aviation University

Bases

• Lingshui Naval Air Station - KJ-500, Shaanxi Y-8Q and ground base of Shenyang J-15s

Equipment

Future

In July 2018, Lieutenant General Zhang Honghe of the PLAAF stated that China is developing a new carrier-based aircraft that will replace the J-15 due to four crashes and numerous technical problems. One problem with the aircraft is that it is the heaviest carrier-borne fighter in current operation with an empty weight of 17,500 kg compared to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet's 14,600 kg (though it is less than the F-14 Tomcat's weight of 19,800 kg). Weight problems are compounded when operating off Liaoning, as its STOBAR launch and recovery method further limits payload capacity.

References

Citations

Sources

References

1. (2025). "The Military Balance 2025". Routledge.
2. (January 2023). "Lessons from the Changing Geometry of PLA Navy Carrier Ops".
3. Trevethan, Lawrence “Sid”. (Sep 25, 2019). "Brigadization of the PLA Air Force".
4. (2018-08-09). "我第29批護航編隊舉行反海盜演練".
5. "PLANAF J-15 fighters seen operating from Lingshui Airbase in South China Sea".
6. (8 August 2017). "China deploys new anti-submarine aircraft to fringes of South China Sea".
7. "Satellite images show China's newest sub-hunting aircraft now deployed to South China Sea".
8. Chan, Minnie. (July 5, 2018). "China is working on a new fighter jet for aircraft carriers to replace its J-15s". [[South China Morning Post]].
9. [https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/beijing-keen-to-develop-j-15-successor-report-449956/ Beijing keen to develop J-15 successor - report] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-01-22 . ''Flight International''. 5 July 2018.)