China has really produced only one indigenous combat aircraft that was not completely modeled after some Soviet design, the A-5 "Fantan" fighter-bomber. It is built with 1950s and 1960s design and incorporates old technology. It took between 10-15 years to bring this aircraft from design to production. [44] However, China is actively pursuing the development of several air power capabilities, focusing on asymmetric means instead of completely matching the air forces of its neighbors or the United States. Rather than try to completely modernize its old airframes, Beijing is working with Italy to improve the radar and avionics of its F-8 (an upgraded MIG-21) to give the aircraft the capability to fire sophisticated air-to-air missiles and, if linked to other systems, to fire over-the-horizon cruise missiles. In the aviation field, also, the PLA is working to ensure that it has a modern military potential. With Russian and Israeli help, the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) is building airborne early warning aircraft utilizing radar that will vector aircraft over land and water, while providing radar data links to target air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles on Russian-provided fighters. In order to ensure better on-station time over the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait area, the PLAAF is also working with our British and Israeli friends to develop and field an air-to-air refueling capability stand off attack. Right now, the Chinese Air Force is able to equip a few of its aircraft with missiles copied from the French Exocet, the missile that did so much damage to the USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, the C-801 and C-802 air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missiles. But Beijing still lacks the capacity to do over-the-horizon targeting in order to employ the C-802 at its capability. If it purchases Russian Su-30s to complement its Su-27s, or gains the airborne early warning capability from an AWACS-like aircraft, the PLA gains this capacity. Although the PLA still cannot build terrain, contour modeling ground attack missiles like the U.S. Tomahawk, the PLA is very impressed with their performance. China's military leaders would like to be able to hit a target from 1,500 miles away, as they saw the United States do in Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan, and they are working to develop the capability. Back to Table of Contents China's Military Potential Back to SSI List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by US Army War College. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com