From J20s to KJ-500: China ramps up air power in Tibet as LAC tensions continue

J-20 stealth fighters of China's PLA Air Force. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

The six J-20 fighters of China's PLAAF or the People's Liberation Army Air Force spotted in Tibet's Hoping in May-June, sources said, were part of an integrated exercise. The J-20, the PLAAF's frontline-fighter was noticed as it was reported for the first time opposite eastern and north-eastern India, but it is unlikely that they will be permanently positioned there, sources said.

Besides the J-20s, about ten other fighters of the PLAAF-- J-7s and J-10s were noticed at Hoping. China's best fighter, the fifth-generation stealth fighter, is made by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. While this air superiority fighter is considered stealthy, there is talk that the tail of the fighter is more "visible", sources said, adding that more and more J-20s will be stationed in Tibet in the future. This is primarily because the Chinese are manufacturing it. They already have about 180 of them and when they have more of them, then, after placing them in the areas of immediate concern, like opposite Taiwan, Tibet will be an option.

Overall, the number of PLAAF warplanes have been around 60 in the forward airfields. This includes the ones on both sides --facing Ladakh and also, the northeast. Apart from the J-20, the usual round of fighters like the J-7, J-8, J-10, J-11 as well as the KJ-500, the early warning airborne and control system, helicopters and drones have been located in Tibetan airfields, in the forward areas and in the rear. The airfields include Hoping, Hotan, Gongka, and Kashgar. The only other frontline fighter seen in Tibet apart from the J-20 is the J-16.

More warplanes are usually seen in the summer months. They are often here for high-altitude training and exercises. It is also a time for construction and expansion of airfields and location of new air-defence equipment and radars. While it is easier to move warplanes than troops, the current situation is more stable compared with the time after the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan area of Ladakh in June 2020. Twenty Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers had died in the fighting, but the troops are no longer eyeball-to-eyeball along the line of actual control.