Passing with flying colors
Pilots of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s August 1st Aerobatic Team perform using J-10 fighter jets at the opening of an event marking the Air Force’s 70th founding anniversary in Changchun, Jilin province, on Thursday. The event runs through Monday.
Aviators of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force said on Thursday that their latest aircraft — the J-20 stealth fighter jet and Y-20 strategic transport plane — are world-class and will tremendously strengthen the air force’s operational capability.
Senior Colonel Zhang Weilin, commander of an unidentified air base that deploys J-20s, said at a news conference in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, that his unit has arranged many realistic air-combat exercises in which J-20s fought with each other or confronted other types of fighter jets to test its capabilities and tactics.
“The outcomes of these exercises have proved that the J-20 is outstanding in terms of situational awareness, electronic warfare and collaboration ability,” he said. “It is fair to say that the service of the J-20 is accelerating the air force’s transformation toward a modernized, strategic force and also helping it gain superiority in the global race for an aerospace force.”
The J-20 is China’s best combat plane and the world’s third operational stealth fighter jet.
Lieutenant Colonel Feng Wei, commander of a Y-20 regiment, said at the news conference that an air force with strategic prowess must have abilities to carry out not only strategic strikes but also strategic power projection, a term used by the PLA Air Force that refers to long-range deployment of large numbers of troops and weapons.
“The Y-20 is the pillar to our strategic power projection capability,” he said. “We have already conducted training over plateaus and open seas, and we are determined to extend our reach wherever our national interests are.”
Captain Chen Siqi, a Y-20 pilot, added that the transport plane is a milestone in China’s aviation industry because compared with all of its predecessors, the colossal aircraft is bigger, stronger, more intelligent and much easier to control.
The remarks followed a massive flight show in Changchun on Thursday morning. The show was part of the opening ceremony of a large, five-day open house hosted by the PLA Air Force at the Air Force Changchun Airport to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding.
General Ding Laihang, the air force’s commander-in-chief, and General Yu Zhongfu, the force’s political commissar, attended the opening ceremony.
The open house aims to show how the air force has developed and transformed over the past 70 years and also looks to display the efforts it has made to gain strong combat capability and strategic prowess, according to Colonel Zhang Shouhai, an officer at the PLA Air Force’s Staff Department.
The event will include flight performances by 35 aircraft of 10 types in active service such as the J-20 and the JL-10 advanced trainer jet. A total of 71 ground weapons of 46 types of equipment are also on display.
It is the seventh large open house the air force has held since its first in 2011. The venue is permanently set in Changchun, a city historically significant to the air force.
In March 1946, the first flight school of the Communist Party of China’s armed forces was set up in Jilin province’s Tonghua, and was later moved to Changchun. The air force defines the school as its cradle.
The PLA Air Force was established on Nov 11, 1949, in Beijing.