China Might Have Stealth Fighters, But How Good are the Pilots Who Fly Them?

War Is Boring

Security, Asia

That seems to be a problem--until now.

China has the third largest air force in the world and may surpass the United States within the next 15 years. But in an aerial shooting war with the U.S. Air Force, Beijing will need more than aircraft — also fighter pilots with well-honed skills capable of facing off with some of the best jocks in the world.

(This article by Robert Beckhusen originally appeared at War is Boring in 2016.)

Right now, Chinese pilots struggle. Underdeveloped tactics and training regimens which discourage initiative — among other problems — means that, as a whole, China’s top guns are less proficient than they could be.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force is also well aware of this, and is changing the way it trains pilots, according to a recent report by the RAND Corporation, a think tank with close ties to the U.S. Air Force. These changes, over time, could do much to reduce the skill gap between the Chinese and American air forces.

China’s air force doesn’t match the United States, because for most of recent history, it didn’t need to.

The traumatic experience of World War II, when 14 million Chinese lost their lives in a Japanese invasion and occupation, shaped Chinese strategy to favor large ground forces. For much of the Cold War, Beijing’s leaders viewed the risk of another invasion, particularly from the Soviet Union, as their number one military threat.