China Air Force's 4th Generation Main Fighter Jet J-11 is

The Russian Su-27 fighter jet's Chinese version, the J-11, is operated by the Chinese Air Force and Naval Aviation. Photo by U.S. Department of Defense

[Military Analyst Kim Daeyoung] Recently, China has been rapidly closing the gap with the United States not only in terms of economy but also military power. According to the 2019 global military power ranking released by the U.S. military power assessment organization, Global Fire Power (GFP), China is ranked 3rd. Unlike the U.S., which boasts military strength worldwide, China's military buildup in Northeast Asia is causing significant concern among neighboring countries.

In particular, the Chinese Air Force boasts the world's third-largest force, possessing over 3,000 various combat aircraft. As of 2019, it operates nearly 600 high-end, high-performance fighter jets, and this number is expected to increase further.

Founded on November 11, 1949, the Chinese Air Force started modestly but entered the jet fighter era by participating in the Korean War (known in China as the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea) with Soviet aid, receiving MiG-15 fighters. It then grew through a close relationship with the Soviet Union.

Subsequently, China acquired MiG-19 and MiG-21 fighters and licensed their production domestically for operational use. The MiG fighters produced in China were named with the prefix "Jian" (meaning "to annihilate"). The MiG-17 became Jian-5, the MiG-19 Jian-6, and the MiG-21 Jian-7.

However, Sino-Soviet relations ended their alliance in the late 1950s and turned hostile, culminating in the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict, which led to armed clashes. Due to the deterioration of relations, many Soviet technicians withdrew from China, and coupled with the Cultural Revolution, it became difficult to import the latest fighter jets from abroad. As a result, until the 1990s, the Chinese Air Force had to operate 2nd and 3rd generation fighters like the Jian-7 and Jian-8.

Meanwhile, neighboring South Korea introduced F-16C/D Block 32 fighters through the Peace Bridge project in 1986, and Japan began licensed production of the F-15J, a Japanese version of the F-15C/D fighter. The fighters introduced by South Korea and Japan were all 4th generation, equipped with advanced avionics superior to 2nd and 3rd generation fighters.

The Chinese Air Force operates over 340 J-11 fighter jets, making it the largest number among the 4th generation high-performance fighters they possess. Photo by Chinese Ministry of National Defense

They also adopted powerful turbofan engines with strong thrust and high efficiency. Besides the basic air-to-air combat mission, these were multi-role fighters capable of performing various tasks. Because of this, they boasted performance that overwhelmed 2nd and 3rd generation fighters. Consequently, in the 1980s, China planned to acquire F-16 fighters by leveraging its friendly relations with the U.S.

However, after the Tiananmen Square incident on June 4, 1989, U.S.-China relations froze instantly. The U.S. and Western countries condemned the Tiananmen incident as a massacre, classified China as a human rights-abusing state, and imposed arms export embargoes. During this period, Sino-Soviet relations were restored, enabling China to import high-performance fighters from the Soviet Union. At that time, the Soviet Union proposed selling MiG-29 fighters to China. However, China wanted the Su-27 fighter, which had better performance than the MiG-29, leading to prolonged negotiations between the two countries.

After a tug-of-war negotiation, the Soviet Union approved the sale of Su-27 fighters to China. In 1991, China signed a $1 billion contract to acquire 24 Su-27 fighters. In 1996, a license production contract was signed to produce up to 200 units. The Chinese government and military named the direct import and licensed production of the Su-27 the "Project 11." The licensed-produced Su-27 fighters were called Jian-11. Of the 200 licensed-produced units, 104 were assembled in China using major parts imported from Russia, while the remaining approximately 90 units were produced with domestically manufactured major components.

Moreover, production exceeded the initially contracted 200 units, and based on the Jian-11, China developed the Jian-15 carrier-based fighter for use on aircraft carriers and the Jian-16, known as the Chinese version of the Strike Eagle.

Russia strongly protested these actions, calling them "illegal copies" violating the contract. Nevertheless, a total of about 560 Jian-11 and its derivatives, Jian-15 and Jian-16, were produced and deployed to the Chinese Navy and Air Force.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.