Every Military Aircraft China is Buying Now

China’s military might grows daily as this global military superpower adds to its navy and air force. Over the past few decades, China has been steadily building up its forces and developing new technology to implement in its next generation of fighter jets and combat helicopters. (This is every aircraft used by the Chinese air force.)

Here 24/7 Wall St. is looking at the newest military aircraft that China is buying. To identify every aircraft on order for the Chinese military, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication. We ranked these aircraft by how many are on order. We also included supplemental data on the type of aircraft, military branches with aircraft in service, and how many of these aircraft are in active service.

The Harbin Z-19, or Black Whirlwind, is one of the newest additions to the Chinese military. It is a light-attack helicopter that was just introduced to service in 2012. It bears some resemblance to the American Apache or Russian Havoc helicopters in regards to its cockpit with the pilots seated in tandem. It can reach speeds up to 152 mph with an operational range of 435 miles. It can be outfitted with anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles, rocket pods, cannon pods, and guns pods. (These countries have the most apache attack helicopters.)

China is also stocking up on fighter jets as well. The J-15, Su-30, and Su-33 are each being added to with this year’s procurements. These jets are similarly modeled but have slight differences in terms of thrust and design. They were originally designed with a heavy Soviet influence, but China is making these jets its own with upgraded avionics and missiles.

Here is a look at every Chinese military aircraft on order:

Why Are We Covering This?

In recent years, the relationship between China and the United States has become more adversarial with each nation wishing to exert influence over the other. Military might would be the final straw when it comes to exerting influence, why it is important to consider how these nations would stack up against each other in a military sense.

6. Z-19

Z-19 helicopter (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED) by Alert5

• Aircraft on order: 11
• Active aircraft: 175
• Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Ground Force

5. Z-10

• Aircraft on order: 12
• Active aircraft: 106
• Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Ground Force

4. J-15

PLAN Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighter aircraft 20211221 - 3 (CC BY 4.0) by u65e5u672cu9632u885bu7701u30fbu7d71u5408u5e55u50dau76e3u90e8

• Aircraft on order: 50
• Active aircraft: 45
• Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force

3. Su-30

• Aircraft on order: 50
• Active aircraft: 45
• Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force

2. Su-33

Sukhoi Su-3... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Dmitry Terekhov

• Aircraft on order: 50
• Active aircraft: 45
• Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force

1. H120

OK-BST (Airbus Helicopters H120) (BY-SA 2.0) by Petr Kadlec

• Aircraft on order: 57
• Active aircraft: 93
• Type of aircraft: Training aircraft/helicopters
• Military branches with aircraft in service: People’s Liberation Army Ground Force