Top 10: Chinese military planes

China has gone from 1950s technology in the 1980s to the stealthy combat aircraft of today.

No other nation has made such rapid progress in the field of aviation technology in the last forty years as the People's Republic of China (PRC). The majority of new military aircraft types flown in the last 20 years have been Chinese, and today, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force operate a fascinating inventory of diverse aircraft. Here are 10 of China’s best:

10: Shenyang J-8 ‘Finback’

The J-8 combat aircraft series began life as what was essentially a scaled-up MiG-21 (the Soviets had also explored this concept with the Ye-150 series) with the location of air intake, as with the MiG-21, in the nose. The Cultural Revolution massively delayed its development, and despite first flying in 1969, it didn’t enter service until 1980.

The design was obsolete, but many of its shortcomings were rectified in the radically modified J-8II, which replaced the nose air intake with conventional side air intakes to create room for a larger, more modern radar. This aircraft, given the NATO designation Finback-B was so different as to be almost a new aircraft.

On 1 April 2001, a J-8 collided with a United States Navy Lockheed EP-3E Aries II aircraft 70 miles (112 km) southeast of Hainan Island. The US aircraft was likely on a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) mission collecting Chinese electronic emissions. One of the two J-8s struck the EP-3 during a series of aggressive passes.

The J-8B crashed and despite escaping the aircraft, its pilot, Wang Wei, was killed after a parachute malfunction. The EP-3E made an emergency landing on Hainan; all 24 crew members survived, and the aircraft was impounded. It is believed the Chinese retrieved something of an intelligence windfall from the EP-3.

9: Xi'an Y-20

This large four-engine strategic airlifter is 47 metres (154 ft 2 in) long and has a maximum take-off weight of around 220,000 kg (485,017 lb). The aircraft has the standard modern configuration for a transport aircraft with a shoulder-mounted wing and a broad T-tail, broader in chord at the top than the bottom (an inverse taper as pioneered on the YC-15).

The Y-20 has an impressive ability to move heavy equipment. It is claimed that the Y-20 can fly 7,800 km (4,800 miles) carrying two Type 15 light tanks (which weigh over 33 tons a piece) or one Type 99A Main Battle Tank weighing over 50 tons 7800 km.

Xi'an used Model-Based Definition (MBD) during its development. This is the practice of using 3D Computer Aided Design software to its fullest extent, speeding up development. Espionage probably also aided the programme; in 2016, a Chinese hacker pleaded guilty in Los Angeles for accessing documents relating to the American Boeing C-17 transport plane.

Advanced engines have proven the most demanding technology for China to master in its rapid leap forward in aerospace, but there have been signs of progress in recent years. The Y-20 initially used an obsolete Soviet engine type, but in 2023, it was fitted with the indigenous high-bypass Shenyang WS-20 turbofan. There are tanker and AEW&C variants of the Y-20.

8: Xi'an JH-7 ‘Flounder’

The Xi'an JH-7 is a large twin-engine fighter bomber broadly in the weight class of the European Panavia Tornado. It is powered by two Xian WS-9 Qinling turbofans, which are essentially licence-produced Rolls-Royce Speys; the Spey also powered several other aircraft types, including some British F-4s.

The Xi'an JH-7 first flew in 1988 and entered service in the 1990s. It has the NATO reporting name ‘Flounder’.  It is of conventional configuration and features a high-set wing; it has been likened to the Anglo-French Sepecat Jaguar in overall layout, though there are significant differences.

It has proved a versatile aircraft. It’s compatible with various weapons for different mission sets, including unguided rocket pods, air-to-air guided missiles, guided anti-ship missiles and anti-radiation missiles to attack radars.  It has a Soviet-designed 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23L autocannon with 300 rounds.

The improved JH-7A was designed to meet a more advanced precision-strike aircraft requirement. The JH-7A uses more modern materials for a lighter and stronger airframe and has a significantly improved maximum weapons payload of around 9000 kg (20,000 lb). It is likely it can deploy nuclear weapons.

7: Chengdu J-7 ‘Fishcan’

In May 2013, production of the Chengdu J-7 (NATO code-name Fishcan) ended. This was the end of a very successful programme that had been running for almost half a century and had created well over 2000 aircraft that had been widely exported.

The Chengdu was a licence-produced variant of the Soviet MiG-21. Its development followed the huge success of the J-6, a similarly Chinese-manufactured MiG-19. Initially, the sometimes tricky relationship between the USSR and China hampered development.

The J-7 (and MiG-21) were fast, agile and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, thanks to the Communist military belief in using superior numbers over superior technology. It was an impressive dogfighter for its generation, and its small size made it difficult for radars or human eyes to detect.

Implementation of advances in weapons, sensors and Human Machine Interface meant the J-7 stayed relevant. It spawned various training aircraft, and even an uncrewed concept has been explored. The aircraft serves or served with the air forces of Albania, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

6: Shaanxi KJ-500

Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft are flying radar stations. They can detect aircraft, waterborne vessels, ground vehicles, missiles, and even artillery rounds; they also perform ‘command and control’ of the battlespace, coordinating military actions.

The KJ-500 is based on the airframe of the Shaanxi Y-9 transport, which is a modernised development of the Shaanxi Y-8F, a Chinese version of the Soviet (later Ukrainian) Antonov An-12. The relationship between the Y-9 and Y-8 is comparable to that of the US C-130 legacy series and the C-130J Super Hercules.

The key feature of the KJ-500 is a fixed dorsal radome; this is a large disc fairing on top of the fuselage that does not rotate like the rotodomes of older AEW aircraft (most modern radars are steered electronically rather than mechanically). The radome contains three Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radars mounted in a triangle, offering 360-degree coverage.

The KJ-500 is highly regarded by some Western defence analysts, who believe it will significantly increase Chinese defensive and offensive capabilities. A variant, the KJ-500H, capable of being air-refuelled for longer-range endurance missions, was displayed at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2022.

5: Xi'an H-6

Though the 1950s concept of a Sino-Soviet nuclear force was abandoned, it led to the establishment of a Chinese assembly line for the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 design, along with all supporting design information. The aircraft is a twin-engine long-range bomber that first flew as the Tu-16 in 1952.

The Chinese version is known as the H-6, and it first flew in 1959. It has a maximum weapon payload of around 9000 kg (20,000 lb). It can carry free-fall bombs, anti-shipping missiles, cruise missiles and (probably) nuclear weapons, as well as a six defensive 23 mm automatic cannon (an additional one may also be carried).

In 2014, the Yellow River froze in Inner Mongolia. The ice was blocking the flow of water and risking mass floods. Though bombing a river may sound like a metaphor for a futile act, in this case, it was an actual successful solution. At least three Xian H-6 took part, dropping 24 unguided bombs. They all hit the target and broke the ice.

The most advanced variant is the H-6K, with superior systems and engines. This is designed for attacks with modern long-range missiles. A daunting prospect for any naval force is the prospect of a salvo of 100 supersonic missiles (likely YJ-12) with a range of up to 310 miles (500km), that a regiment of 18 H-6Ks could launch. It can also fire YJ-21 Air-Launched Ballistic Missiles.

4: Shenyang J-16

The most feared Soviet fighter for the final years of the Cold War was the Su-27 ‘Flanker’. It boasted everything in spades: spectacular turn rate, astonishing high alpha performance, world record-setting climb rate, weapons persistence (it could carry more air-to-air missiles than any other Cold War fighter) and, importantly, long range.

Though similar to the MiG-29 in configuration, the Su-27 is far larger. The Su-27 is around 22 metres long (over 72 feet), while the MiG-29 is about 17 metres (over 55 feet). The Flanker series proved highly adaptable, but the story of these derivatives lies after the Cold War.

The ‘Flanker’ combines a clever aerodynamic configuration with a large amount of the aircraft’s fuselage contributing to lift, with a high power-to-weight ratio (at lighter fuel loads). Shortly after the Cold War, the Flanker’s draw-dropping air displays astonished Western audiences with extremely high alpha and wild controlled manoeuvres at extremely low speeds.

China has a bewildering array of officially and unofficially developed Flanker variants (and derivatives).  The Shenyang J-16 (pictured) is the most radically Chinese Flanker derivative and is available in large numbers.  The J-16D is an electronic warfare (EW) variant equipped with wingtip EW pods and other specialised mission equipment.

3: Chengdu J-10

The J-10 is a medium-weight multirole single-engine combat aircraft, that first flew in 1998. It is of the tailless delta canard configuration (a form most favoured in Europe and shared with the larger Chinese J-20). It’s the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, with an estimated 580 in service.

The J-10 is based on CAC’s experiences with the cancelled J-9 project, which underwent many iterations during its protracted development. The cancelled Israeli Lavi project of the 1980s (a different aircraft to today’s M346 Lavi) likely influenced the project regarding flight control system (FCS) development and integration, avionics and overall programme management. 

It appears to be an excellent all-rounder, well-equipped with modern sensors and weapons. It boasts an impressively small turn radius, excellent low-speed performance and modest runway-length requirements (meaning it takes off and lands at shorter distances than many other fighters).

The J-10C arsenal of modern weapons includes the long-range PL-15 missile, and it is an aircraft to be respected. The J-10B variant introduced refinements that made the aircraft more stealthy, notably a new divert-less supersonic intake. The J-10s’s weaknesses are likely to include high fuel consumption and relatively low range.

2: CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder

The CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder is a joint Chinese/Pakistani fighter aircraft. According to the JF-17 pilot we spoke to it is, ‘Underrated, reliable and effective’. The JF-17 is a light fighter operated by Pakistan, Myanmar and Nigeria (with others coming soon). While the Gripen utilises one Hornet engine to great effect, the JF-17 gets by with one MiG-29 engine.

What the JF-17 lacks in all-out performance is offset by a major advantage: it’s unaffected by US foreign policy decisions, as it’s fitted with modern Chinese weapons and avionics. This is not the case with the Pakistan Air Force’s United-States-supplied F-16s.

A generally conventional design, the most noteworthy feature of the aircraft is its diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI), which uses a ‘bump’ and forward-swept inlet to avoid the complexity of a variable-geometry intake. This serves to slow and smooth the air that reaches the jet engine.

According to the pilot the best thing about the JF-17 is the ‘Continuous upgrades of indigenous (Pakistani) and Chinese weapons and electronic counter-measure suites’ he also noted the impressive long range or ‘stand off’ capabilities of exceptional range certain weapons including the REK/IREK, CM-400 and C-802AK cruise missiles.

1: Chengdu J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’

China was the second nation in the world to put an indigenous stealth fighter into operational service. With its extremely long-range anti-air weapons, this relatively stealthy platform could prove formidable. It is the first stealth aircraft to adopt the tailless canard delta configuration.

Unlike the other fighters with the canard-delta arrangement, the canard is not closely coupled to the wing, the main benefit from this arrangement being the carriage of significantly more fuel, coupled with the scope for a long internal weapons bay, providing sufficient volume for a wide range of weapons.