People's Liberation Army Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) (simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军空军; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍空軍; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn Kōngjūn) is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China. The PLAAF has approximately 330,000 personnel and 2,500+ aircraft, of which 1,770 are combat aircraft; the PLAAF is the largest air force in Asia, and the third largest in the world behind the United States Air Force and the Russian Air Force. This does not include PLA Naval Aviation which has 26,000 personnel and 570 aircraft (290 combat aircraft). The PLAAF was founded with Soviet assistance on November 11, 1949, shortly after the formation of the People's Republic of China. The...