The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) (simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军空军; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍空軍; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Kōngjūn) is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China. In 2010, the PLAAF had approximately 330,000 personnel and 2,500+ aircraft, of which 1,617 were combat aircraft; the PLAAF was the largest air force in Asia, and the third largest in the worl...
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The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) (simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军空军; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍空軍; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Kōngjūn) is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China. In 2010, the PLAAF had approximately 330,000 personnel and 2,500+ aircraft, of which 1,617 were combat aircraft; the PLAAF was the largest air force in Asia, and the third largest in the world behind the United States Air Force and the Russian Air Force. This does not include PLA Naval Aviation which had 26,000 personnel and 570 aircraft (290 combat aircraft).
The PLAAF was founded with Soviet assistance on November 11, 1949, shortly after the formation of the People's Republic of China. The PLA had operated few aircraft before that. The PLA's first organized air unit, the Nanyuan Flying Group, was formed only in the summer of 1949 from about 40 ex-Nationalist aircraft; its task was to defend Beijing, the nation's new capital.
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