【Military Subplane】Author: Lele
In 2005, China and Russia held their first joint military exercises, which were also the first large-scale joint military exercises between China and other armed forces since the Cold War. At that time, the Russian Air Force dispatched Tu-22M3 and Su-27SM, which were not very advanced, but they exceeded the equipment of the domestic Air Force at that time, and the cooperation with guided weapons opened the eyes of the country. The most important thing is that since then, the domestic air force has conducted military exercises with Pakistan and Thailand, which has sharpened itself. Today, most of the active equipment of the Air Force, including the J-16, has gone abroad, and only the J-20 is an exception.
▲The little-known Su-27SM can be considered the predecessor of the Su-35S
In the early years, the domestic air force had a more conservative attitude towards military exercises abroad, such as the J-10A when it conducted the "Eagle-1" military exercise with Pakistan in 2011. Of course, Pakistan at that time was not much stronger, and simply pulled out the J-7P. Two years later, in the "Eagle-2", the Chinese J-10A did not change, while the Pakistani side dispatched the "Mirage-3", which can really be described as a difficult brother. The follow-up air force equipment was gradually upgraded, and the concept began to be liberalized, so that the J-10C and J-16 had the opportunity to appear. But on the "Eagle-6" in 2017, the outside world was still surprised to see the figure of the J-8. In general, in the early years of domestic military exercises with Pakistan, they did come into contact with a lot of new things, but with the gradual increase in the number of Chinese fighters equipped by the latter, the tactics gradually moved closer to the Chinese Air Force, and the reference value was also decreasing.
▲It is really not easy for J-10A and J-7P to meet
While this performance proves that the tactical level of the Chinese Air Force has soared in the past few years, and even won the favor of the Pakistan Air Force, it is not expected to learn anything innovative from an ally who learns from itself. In contrast, the Air Force's military exercises in Thailand in recent years have always attracted a lot of attention. On the one hand, this is because of the conservative equipment dispatched by the country in the early years, and it was once defeated in the hands of the Thai Air Force, and public opinion was in an uproar, so it is natural to wonder if there is a follow-up "turnover". On the other hand, China has attached great importance to military exercises with Thailand in recent years, such as sending 6 J-10C and 1 Air Police-500 (and one J-7A) high-level air combat team in 2022, and the upgraded J-11BG to Thailand before. It can be seen that although the Thai Air Force is not large, the tactics of perennial contact with the West still interest the country, which will frequently dispatch high-end air combat equipment to the meeting.
▲The Air Police-500 does not have many opportunities to go abroad
In a word, China now attaches great importance to the exchange of three-and-a-half-generation fighters abroad, and after the J-20A is put into service, the J-10C and J-16 are retired as auxiliaries, and the restrictions on going abroad are much smaller. The current situation is that the J-20A, as the most high-end combat power of the Air Force, has so far limited its scope of activities to the domestic market, which is not a normal situation. Theoretically speaking, the J-20A crushes the top fighters of Thailand and Pakistan, and lacks the value of confrontation exercises, but this is not the case. The suppression of stealth fighters is not invulnerable, and what exactly to start from and to what extent, how to deal with the J-20A, and how to minimize losses are all that need to be found in the confrontation.
▲ To what extent the J-20A can suppress three and a half generations needs to be confirmed by military exercises
The level of confrontation drills held in China in recent years has been very good, and it has also proved the toughness of the J-20A, but after all, it is a confrontation under its own combat framework, and there is a lack of new elements to enter. Just as China went to Thailand for military exercises a few years ago and accidentally suffered a big loss, transnational military exercises were originally an effective way to test equipment and tactics. In addition, for an ally like Pakistan, confrontation with stealth fighters can deeply understand the problem and solve the problem in a targeted manner, after all, stealth fighters are the trend of the times. Although India has not yet shown its intention to purchase, it is only a matter of time before it is equipped with stealth fighters. In the face of so many benefits, China has still restricted the J-20A from leaving the country, and has not even really participated in foreign-related military exercises in China (the only record at present is that the J-20A appeared at the opening of the Sino-Russian military exercise in 2021, but did not participate in the follow-up).
▲ F-22A has been very open in recent years
Interestingly, the U.S. Air Force often deploys stealth fighters to conduct exercises with allies, such as the F-22A to the Philippines last year, and the latter also claimed to have locked the F-22A with the South Korean FA-50. Its allies also have a large number of F-35A/Bs, and they exercise with each other frequently. How to say it, the restrictions on the J-20A in China at this stage will probably only be lifted when the more advanced "J-20B" comes out, and even after the J-35 begins to be exported. Prior to this, it is estimated that only the Russian Aerospace Forces, which are equipped with Su-57, will have the opportunity to fight with the J-20 (if there is no Russian-Ukrainian war, this should have happened), and the two heavy stealth fighters will eventually be superior.