US Expected to Readjust Tactics as Chinese Navy and Air Force Reorganize

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been transferring its navy’s aviation units to the air force since the beginning of 2023, according to a report from the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), a think tank affiliated with the U.S. Air Force.
US Expected to Readjust Tactics as Chinese Navy and Air Force Reorganize
Chinese J-15 fighter jets being launched from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier drills in the South China Sea on Jan. 2, 2017. STR/AFP via Getty Images
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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been transferring its navy’s aviation units to the air force since the beginning of 2023, according to a report from the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI), a think tank affiliated with the U.S. Air Force.

“By mid-2023, the PLA transferred the majority of PLAN [People’s Liberation Army Navy] fighter, bomber, radar, air defense, and airfield units to the PLA Air Force (PLAAF),” the report said.

“In total, the PLA transferred at least three fighter brigades, two bomber regiments, three radar brigades, three air defense brigades, and numerous airfield stations.”

The reorganization will place greater demands on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) theater joint command system, as the navy will need to leverage kinetic capabilities from other service branches, the report said.

Additionally, it said that the transfer of JH-7 and H-6 aircraft strips the navy of most of its aerial minelaying capabilities.

But the report said the realignment has two clear benefits to PLA air operations: streamlining bureaucracy/improving standardization across units and unifying all defensive air operations under theater command air forces rather than splitting between two theater services.

Carrier-Based Aviation Force

The report also outlined how the changes will allow the PLAN to focus on its aircraft carriers.

“In addition to the improvements to PLA air operations, this realignment supports the PLAN’s long-term ambitions to build out a mature carrier-based aviation force,” the report said.

“By divesting themselves of thousands of billets, multiple pieces of infrastructure, and numerous airframes, the PLAN is now free to pursue a more carrier-centric force within the constraints of its current level of resourcing.

“Currently, the PLAN fields two carrier-based fighter brigades and there are indications that PLAN J-15 carrier-based fighters now frequently operate out of one of the PLAN’s Feidong Airfield in Eastern Theater Command.”

Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning (C) participating in military drills in the South China Sea on Jan. 2, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning (C) participating in military drills in the South China Sea on Jan. 2, 2017. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Carl Schuster, former director of operations at U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, told The Epoch Times that the reorganization may streamline the administrative structure of the Theater Commands air force.

He noted the reorganization is placing all of what used to be part of the PLA Navy’s air attack, defense, electronic warfare, and surveillance assets under one single air force service component

It will, however, reduce the capabilities of the navy as it adds another layer of administration for naval air operations, especially in quick-response situations.

Mr. Schuster said PLAN’s units operating east of the chain of islands encompassing Japan, Taiwan, portions of the Philippines, and Indonesia might not enjoy as responsive air power support as in the past.

He said the United States would need to respond to the changes.

“The U.S. will have to modify its wargame scenarios and tactics since this reorganization means PLA Theater Command, PLA Air Force can concentrate more air power more rapidly,” he said.

J-15 fighter jets on China's aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill in the East China Sea in April 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)
J-15 fighter jets on China's aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, during a drill in the East China Sea in April 2018. AFP via Getty Images

In response to The Epoch Times’ inquiries on the PLA reorganization, U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Martin Meiners recommended the “China Military Power Report 2022.”

In particular, the report states that the 2022 National Security Strategy identifies the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only competitor with the intent and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order.

The CCP also presents the most consequential and systemic challenge to U.S. national security and the free and open international system, said the report.

“It is important to understand the contours of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) way of war, survey its current activities and capabilities, and assess its future military modernization goals,” the report stated.

Jenny Li
Jenny Li
Author
Jenny Li has contributed to The Epoch Times since 2010. She has reported on Chinese politics, economics, human rights issues, and U.S.-China relations. She has extensively interviewed Chinese scholars, economists, lawyers, and rights activists in China and overseas.
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