The Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” is the flagship project of China’s military modernization. This fifth-generation fighter is meant to support China’s air dominance in the East and South China Seas and across the Himalayas.
The aircraft is designed to take on the leading US fighters, such as the F-22 and F-35. Nearly 250 have already been built, and over 200 have been operationally inducted. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) is expected to have 400 aircraft by 2027, and they target having nearly 1,000 by 2035.
China has one of the largest economies and is still growing significantly. According to the Global Data Fixed-Wing Market Forecast of 2022-32, the assessed current cost of the J-20 is around $100 million per aircraft. The overall program is anticipated to cost around $30 billion. China can afford such spending to meet its global power aspirations.
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China has understood that for projecting power and becoming a global military leader, pushing air, maritime, and space dominance is crucial. Therefore they are also investing significantly in aircraft carriers.
For several years, it has been known and publicly acknowledged that China has surpassed the U.S. Navy in the sheer number of warships. In a recent testimony on Capitol Hill, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command suggested that China may soon have the world’s largest air force.
Work is now aggressively underway to operationalize the Shenyang J-31, another Indigenous fifth-generation fighter that follows the J-20. Relatively smaller, this F-35 look-alike will have a carrier variant.
China also bought nearly squadron-sized Su-35 (24 aircraft). Some contend that this was primarily to understand further developments by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
It could help it reverse engineer some more technologies to improve its Su-30MKK and other similar fleets. But this multi-role aircraft does give PLAAF more firepower. The Su-35S entered service with PLAAF in April 2018 and is based in Guangdong province in southeast China.
Chinese Military Airbases
Any country builds its airbases considering the long-term threat perception. Similarly, the latest aircraft and other combat assets are positioned at these airbases based on current threats.
China is known to have nearly 150 military-useable airbases. Over 100 of these are of PLAAF, and many others are dual-use airfields across several different Military Regions and Districts in China. China is a large country, and with 400,000 active personnel and nearly 3,500 aircraft of various types, PLAAF is a large air force and, therefore, a large number of airbases.
With such a large number of ISR (Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) satellites, it has become very easy to assess the airbase layout and assets operating there. A fairly large amount of information is now available through OSINT (Open-source intelligence), which can be corroborated by many independent sources. This article primarily looks at the J-20 and Su-35 airbases.
As the Indo-Pacific airspace is getting more and more contested with deployment of F-35s, here is a map of all the aircraft deployed by the People Liberation Army Air Force. @THEEURASIATIMES #airpower #j20 #indopacific pic.twitter.com/srE1PGUybc
— Ritu Sharma (@ritu86sharma) July 14, 2024
The 176th Aviation Brigade, Dingxin
The 176th Aviation Brigade is at Dingxin Airbase, Gansu, in the Gobi Desert near Mongolia. It is an experimental testing and training facility in Western China and the first unit to receive J-20 low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft.
It is part of Western Theatre Command (WTC). Some call it China’s top-secret desert airbase. The airbase’s large aprons allow operations of over a hundred different types of aircraft.
It has long been a military and weapons testing center. The airbase supports the development of tactics and weaponry and advanced training in large-force scenarios. It also has an aggressor squadron comprising Su-30s and J-10s, as well as full-scale aerial target drones converted from older MIG variants.
It can be termed an analog to the Nellis Air Force Base in the United States or a combination of India’s TACDE (Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment) and ASTE (Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment).
With a relatively secluded area and large free airspace, it makes an ideal region for China’s major fighter and attack aircraft exercises, including the annual air-to-air competition “Golden Helmet” and air-to-ground competition “Golden Dart.” The airbase also supports large force employment (LFE) exercises like Red Sword.
The airbase has a major firing range nearby where mock targets of all kinds are created. Ground-based air defense systems and electronic warfare units are also positioned there.
111 Fighter Brigade, Korla Airbase
The airbase is part of the Korla Licheng airport. It is in Xinjiang province but in the northern part of WTC, closer to Mongolia. The airbase received the J-20s in 2022. These aircraft have been inducted during exercises in Tibet and Hotan.
97th Fighter Brigade, Dazu Airbase, Chongqing
It is a dual-use airbase under WTC and the most recent airbase to house J-20A aircraft. Chongqing is a municipality in Southwest China. Along with Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, it is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central Government.
It is the only directly administrated municipality located deep inland. Dazu is a district of Chongqing. The airbase is just 150 kilometers from Chengdu, where J-20s are manufactured. It is around 830 kilometers from India’s Arunachal Pradesh.
9th Aviation Brigade, Wuhu Air Base
The 9th Fighter Brigade is based at Wuhu Air Base in Wuhu, Anhui province. Called “the elite of all elite divisions in the PLAAF,” the unit flies the J-20 and is the premier fighter aviation unit in the Eastern Theatre Command (ETC) Air Force. Also known as the Wang Hai Brigade, the unit, and its ancestors were each the first PLAAF unit to operationally employ the Chengdu J-7, Sukhoi Su-27, Sukhoi Su-30MKK, and Chengdu J-20.
Under the Shanghai Base, it is responsible for protecting the country’s financial capital. In January 2019, the brigade became the first operational unit to be equipped with the J-20, replacing the Sukhoi Su-30MKK it had operated since 2001. The brigade finished transitioning entirely to J-20s in the first half of 2021, fielding between 24 and 30 aircraft.
8th Aviation Brigade, Changxing Air Base
The 8th Aviation Brigade is part of the ETC and is part of the Changxing Air Base. They got the J-20s in 2022. It is also located very close to Shanghai and is an important airbase for the eastern front opposite Okinawa, Japan. It is responsible for conflict in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Earlier called 3rd Air Division, sixty-three pilots of the unit participated in the 1950–1953 Korean War, flying 3,465 sorties, 87 aerial victories over enemy aircraft, and combat losses of 27 aircraft.
41st Aviation Brigade, Wuyishan Air Base
The 41st Aviation Brigade, part of Wuyishan Air Base, got their J-20s in 2023. It is part of the ETC. It is in China’s Fujian province, located just 960 kilometers from Kadena airbase, Okinawa, in Japan, which now has US F-22 aircraft.
The new J-20s could replace the older Shenyang J-11A and J-11BS aircraft also operated by the brigade. The brigade could also potentially add some Shenyang J-16 multirole combat aircraft.
ETC Major J-20 Active Operator
The ETC operates three brigades of J-20s and was the first to get them. Its remit covers south-eastern China (including the financial hub of Shanghai), the East China Sea, and Taiwan. The theatre command regularly conducts aerial operations around Taiwan and projects air power over the East China Sea towards the Western Pacific and Japan.
J-20s participated in drills around Taiwan, including the PLA’s ‘Joint Sword-2024A’ military exercise in May 2024. The exercise was meant to project air power over the East China Sea.
56th Fighter Brigade, Zhengzhou Airbase
The 56th Fighter Brigade is part of Zhengzhou Airbase in Henan province. Zhengzhou is the capital and largest city in Henan Province in the central part of China. This is the only J-20 formation in Central Theatre Command (CTC). Nearly equidistant from Shanghai and Beijing and 430 kilometers east of Xian, it covers the region between them.
5th Aviation Brigade, Guilin Tannan Air Base
The 5th Aviation Brigade, Guilin Tannan Air Base, is part of Southern Theatre Command (STC). It is not too far from Shenzhen, in southeastern China, a modern metropolis that links Hong Kong to the mainland. They got the J-20s in 2021.
1st Aviation Brigade, Anshan Air Base
1st Aviation Brigade, Anshan Air Base is in the Northern Theatre Command (NTC) and is the closest base to North Korea. It is very close to Shenyang, which houses the aircraft corporation that is developing the J-31B. They also made the Shenyang J-11, a Chinese variant of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27, the Shenyang J-15, a Carrier-borne naval multirole fighter, and the Shenyang J-16, a Strike fighter aircraft.
172nd Aviation Regiment Cangzhou Airbase
The 172nd Aviation Regiment Cangzhou Airbase, Hebei, is a training Regiment just south of Beijing. It also has J-16, J-10, and Su-30MKK aircraft, which are meant to protect the Capital city.
4th Aviation Brigade, Foshan
4th Aviation Brigade, Foshan, Guangdong Province, is part of the Southern Theatre Command (STC). It is very close to Hong Kong and Macau. Janes Defence has reported that the airbase has inducted J-20s in addition to existing J-11s.
Other Likely J-20 Units – Conflicting Reports
54th Air Brigade at Changxing Air Base was last on Su-30MKK. Some analysts have reported that it had converted to J-20. The 8th Aviation Brigade under the same Air Base already has J-20s.
Therefore, it is unlikely. Similarly, there are conflicting reports of the 55th Aviation Brigade at Jining Airbase, Shandong, having converted to J-20s. There is no clear evidence of the same. There are reports of the 131st Fighter Brigade also having converted to J-20 is unlikely to be correct. The Brigade was last operating J-10s.
Similarly, the 98th Fighter Brigade was last operating J-11, J-16, and Su-27 at Baishiyi Air Base, Chongqing, and there is no confirmation of it switching to J-20s. In any case, the 97th Fighter Brigade at Dazu, Chongqing, has already converted. The 95th Fighter Brigade is converting to J-16s and is perhaps erroneously being reported by some as converting to J-20s.
Summary of Current J-20 Units
| Unit | Theatre Command | Airfield | Year Inducted |
| 176th Aviation Brigade | WTC | Dingxin, Gansu | 2018 |
| 111 fighter Brigade | WTC | Korla | 2022 |
| 97th Fighter Brigade | WTC | Dazu, Chongqing | 2024 |
| 9th Aviation Brigade | ETC | Wuhu Air Base | 2019 |
| 8th Aviation Brigade | ETC | Changxing Air Base | 2022 |
| 41st Aviation Brigade | ETC | Wuyishan Air Base | 2023 |
| 56th Aviation Brigade | CTC | Zhengzhou Air Base | 2022 |
| 5th Aviation Brigade | STC | Guilin Air Base, Guangxi | 2021 |
| 4th Aviation Brigade | STC | Foshan, Guangdong Province | Details Inadequate |
| 1st Aviation Brigade | NTC | Anshan Air Base | 2021 |
| 172nd Aviation Regiment | Training Regiment | Cangzhou Airbase, Hebei | 2020 |
J-20 Location Inferences
Most of the J-20s are being positioned on the eastern seaboard, facing the East and South China Seas. The main priority is Taiwan’s unification.
The main threat is from the US and its allies in the West Pacific. Therefore, the ETC and STC are J-20 heavy. The WTC, which is the largest theatre (geographically larger than India), also has three J-20 air brigades. The WTC covers the entire border with India.
Although the permanent airbases are a little far from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the J-20s have been seen operating in Tibet. Very recently, six J-20 fighters were seen at the Shigatse dual-use airport in Tibet. J-20s have earlier operated from Hotan and Kashgar in Xinjiang province, not far from Ladakh.
China is strengthening the infrastructure and logistic support facilities at air bases next to LAC. More airbases will be able to take on J-20 operations. In any case, with aerial refueling, the J-20s can fly in from bases much deeper.
The US Air Force is, in the meanwhile, factoring in the presence of an increasing number of J-20s on China’s Eastern Sea-board. The Su-35S are also in the STC. The US is moving more F-22 and F-35 in the region. The contest will become more aggressive once the J-31s are also operational in the next 4-5 years.
- Air Marshal Anil Chopra (Retired) is an Indian Air Force veteran fighter test pilot. He has been decorated with gallantry and distinguished service medals while serving in the IAF for 40 years. He tweets @Chopsyturvey
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