The Chinese Air Force, or to use it's proper name, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), was officially founded in July 1949. Since then, it has largely relied on Soviet or Russian made aircraft and has only been involved in two major conflicts: the Korean War in the 1950s, and the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979. Over the past 20 years, however, China has been quickly expanding and enhancing its air capabilities, most notably with stealth aircraft like the J-20 and J-35. So this episode considers how capable the PLAAF currently are, and to what extent they pose a threat to the US Air Force, for example.

In today's show, we have Dr Brendan Mulvaney talking about the PLAAF's aircraft, capabilities, training, doctrine, and preparedness. Brendan was a pilot in the US Marine Corps, has a PhD in international relations from Fudan University in Shanghai, and currently serves as the Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute at the Air University* in the US.

* Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of the Air University, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government agency.