CHINA / MILITARY
PLA Air Force holds drills across China, shows preparedness against provocations from US, allies
Published: Feb 13, 2022 07:30 PM
Fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command taxi on the runway to the takeoff point prior to an air combat flight training exercise on January 17, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wu Gaoming)

Fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command taxi on the runway to the takeoff point prior to an air combat flight training exercise on January 17, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wu Gaoming)

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force units across all five theater commands recently conducted simultaneous exercises after the PLA Navy held concurrent drills in three major sea regions in a similar manner, in a move that displayed the Chinese military's high level of combat preparedness facing military provocations from the US and its allies, analysts said on Sunday.

Dispatching aircraft including a KJ-2000 airborne early warning and control system, a regiment affiliated with the PLA Eastern Theater Command Air Force organized flight drills on Thursday with the goal being testing the unit's combat capabilities, PLA-Airforce Online, an official social media account of the PLA Air Force, reported on Saturday.

J-10 fighter jets attached to brigades affiliated with the PLA Southern Theater Command Air Force conducted flight exercises on Wednesday and Thursday, honing the pilots' capabilities in air-to-air combat, the report said.

The PLA Western Theater Command Air Force not only organized a ground-based anti-aircraft missile battalion to conduct combat-oriented drills under harsh cold and oxygen-lacking environments on February 7, but also tasked warplanes including J-16 fighter jets with mock aerial combat battles on Thursday, PLA-Airforce Online reported.

At a brigade affiliated with the PLA Northern Theater Command Air Force, JH-7 fighter bombers received maintenance amid cold weather and carried out flight drills on Wednesday, the report said.

A ground-based anti-aircraft missile battalion and a radar brigade affiliated with the PLA Central Theater Command conducted drills on Wednesday, testing the units' combat readiness, the report said, noting that the airborne forces carried out cold-resistant training for paratroopers on February 7, and held flight tests for Z-10 attack helicopters and Z-8 transport helicopters on Thursday.

The PLA-Airforce Online report comes after China Central Television reported on Wednesday that the navies of the PLA Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Commands conducted simultaneous exercises in three major sea regions.

The intensive aerial and maritime drills displayed the PLA's high level of combat preparedness amid military provocations from the US and its allies, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Sunday, requesting anonymity.

Air and naval warfare should be integrated, and the PLA Air Force and Navy will not fight alone under the organization of theater commands, the expert said.

The US and Japan held the Noble Fusion 2022 exercise between February 3 and 7 in sensitive locations to the east of Taiwan island, provoking China despite the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Olympic Truce, media reported.