With These Aircraft, The Chinese Military Proves That It Isn’t Messing Around

The Zhuhai Airshow took place earlier this month — from November 12 to 17, 2024 — in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. The Airshow, which first debuted in 1996, allows China to showcase both its military and civilian aviation developments. This year, China debuted the J-15T, which an article in The EurAsian Times describes as: “a catapult-capable variant of the country’s first carrier-based fighter” and “a new variant of the J-15 ‘Flying Shark,’ a 4.5-generation fighter jet based on the Soviet Su-33.” Not only can this innovative plane be launched efficiently and easily from a catapult, but it also includes upgraded weaponry and landing gear. This highlights where China and its military are prioritizing aircraft spending. (China’s air force has over 450 of this combat plane in service.)

Of course, the country’s military also has some tried-and-true aircraft that supplement its existing defense priorities and budget. In fact, China often continues to buy more of these military aircraft to expand its fleet and further project power. 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.

Why Are We Covering This?

In recent years, the relationship between China and the United States has become more adversarial. Both nations seem to wish 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. (This Chinese fighter jet is faster than 90% of all U.S. combat aircraft.)

Here is every Chinese military aircraft the country has on order: 

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