PLAAF AND PLAN Pilot Training

:coffee: Hello All,

I am curious about the various training programs of the PLAN and PLAAF for tactical pilots and aircrews. We often discuss the various weapon systems, aircraft and and tactics, I am curious as to what any prospective PLAAF or PLAN pilot would endure. With new aircraft and technology found in aircraft like the various Flankers models, how often are PLAAF or PLAN pilots able to fly? Russia and the US have seen pilot to aircraft ratios swell in recent times. American tactical squadrons tend to float between 12-14(USN/USMC) or 12-24 (USAF) aircraft and draw pilots and aircrews from the squadron as well as headquater units on the Group and Wing levels. As such, a pilot or WSO in a squadron may find himself or herself flying with a crewmember from the Group or Wing. Would it be correct to guess the PLAN and PLAAF Squadrons/Regiments follow similar patterns? Are there Adversary Programs and Fighter Weapons schools for the PLAAF/PLAN as well?

Have a great weekend everyone,

Raven:coffee:

Raven , those are great questions! I hope someone like Dongfeng or tphuang can answer them.

I also have often questioned how much actual training the PLA forces recieve. And of course the quality of the training is in question.

Perhaps someone "in the know" of PLA training operations can answer ypur query.

Its not hard to find pilot hours as once in a while some star pilot gets featured in the PLA journals and media. To make things short, before the year 2000, pilot hours were pretty short, even among the Flanker pilots. During then, pilots were only getting as much as 110 hours, though that is a much better improvement over the 60 hours plus J-6 pilots used to get, and the 10 to 20 hours the Russians can only afford to during the nineties.

Then between 2000 to 2004, pilot hours escalated sharply to as high as 185 hours. After 2004, there are reports that some pilots, even on J-7s, were as high as 220 hours, and there are complaints about pilot fatigue, especially when the training often involved low level flights.

A PLAAF regiment is between 20 to 40 aircraft but is usually around 24. However in recent years, past the year 2000, the numbers have swelled up to at least 32.

The number of flight hours an aircraft averages per year seems to be about 200 for the Flankers, though I would take that as an average for the PLAAF. Unlike the USAF, PLAAF aircraft are not personalized so anyone can fly them. So those 200 hours does not mean its from one pilot.

There are women pilots in the PLAAF, and they go through basic fighter training. However they usually end up flying transports and such.

The PLAAF equivalent to a fighter school and adversary program would be the FTTC or Flight Test and Training Center located in Caijing, under the Beijing Military Region command. The FTTC flies J-10s, Su-30MKKs, J-7E/Gs and J-8IIs of various types. The FTTC has a dedicated adversary unit that was known to fly J-7Es before.

DACT appears common in PLAAF wargame exercises, which is usually based around Blue Army vs. Red Army. Certain advanced units often play Blue Flag aggressors, intended to simulate the ROCAF. Since the coming of the J-10, Blue Flag units are often using this plane.

Thanks for the info Crobato. And thank you for the comments Popeyes. Training seems to be the least talked about issue in the various discussions in military aviation. More times than not, the well trainined aircrew will carry the day. It interesting to hear the training that pilots in the PLAAF and PLAN are doing. Thanks a lot for clearing up my questions,

Raven

Thanks for the info Crobato. And thank you for the comments Popeyes

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Thank you!

Any military can have all the "toys". But if that military does not know how to operate them. Those weapon systems are in fact rendered useless.

If the PLAAF has indeed pumped up their flight hours that is a great step in the right direction for them.

That's all fairly dated information, but it does provide an interesting glimpse at PLAAF training. Of course, most important is the quality of training not quantity. There are also other issues such as tactics and deployment that require little flight time, but are still needed to keep pilots and airbase commanders.

One interesting tidbit is one aggressor units:

The Blue Army aggressor unit is equipped with advanced equipment and flown by special-grade and first-grade pilots. This unit has fought numerous air battles with every PLAAF combat aircraft unit, in order to help improve the PLAAF's high?tech combat effectiveness and improve their knowledge of tactics. The specialized unit has emerged as a strong enemy force in simulated air battles, which has led the PLAAF to make numerous changes in its tactical training. In light of China's training situation, the specialized unit has launched no-notice preemptive strikes under real combat conditions.

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We had similar units in the U.S. during the Cold War, but those were decommissioned long ago and I don't think they ever launched no-notice pre-emptive strikes.

I think, while PLAAF pilots don't get as many hours, they might be trained harder than American pilots to compensate.

The fact they have dissimilar combat training puts them ahead of the ROCAF at least.

One thing I like to point out is the concept of multirole isn't working out in the PLAAF, with only the MKKs as the true multirole jets here. No, the J-10 isn't fully multirole either.

As a result, pilots don't divide their training hours doing ACM or surface attack (other than bomb runs and rocket strafe runs). They can put it more hours into ACM. Pilots dedicated for the ground attack, like those in the Q-5s and JH-7As, can can much of their time perfecting their specialized roles.

The result, with the exception of the MKK crews, is that the PLAAF pilots tends to be specialists.

Also with a lot more space in China, there is more opportunities for ACM without having to consider civilian air traffic and routes. This also means more opportunities to practice EW, which can otherwise screw up civil air traffic.

On the negative side, PLAAF training is also insular, since they never train with anyone else. They don't train with other countries, so no one knows their actual tactics but neither do they know much outside their own bamboo curtain as well.

That may change soon. If the USAF goes to India for exercises, PLAAF may go to Pakistan, Myanmar, NK, Laos, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Russia, Kazachstan, Iran and maybe some others (and/or invite them in) to exercise with those AFs!

BANGKOK - If all goes to plan, China will for the first time ever in July host joint military exercises with troops from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the strongest indication yet that Beijing's recent economic charm offensive toward the region is starting to pay real strategic dividends.
Beijing extended the invitation during last month's ASEAN summit, innocuously for peacekeeping training and disaster-zone management and reconstruction. ASEAN is reportedly still mulling the offer, but many security analysts believe that the group is poised to accept the historic offer and that Beijing would not have extended the historic offer if the chances of acceptance weren't high.

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speaking of training hrs, there is a book in UCSD's IR/PS(interantion relation/Pacific studies) library called military balance 2006, it details the inventory and training(in terms of hrs) for every military.(I would provide the full citiation when i go back and get the book). Apparently, in the PLAAF, the flying hrs. for figher pilots are 180 hrs. compare to that of the US of 189.

UCSDAE said:

speaking of training hrs, there is a book in UCSD's IR/PS(interantion relation/Pacific studies) library called military balance 2006, it details the inventory and training(in terms of hrs) for every military.(I would provide the full citiation when i go back and get the book). Apparently, in the PLAAF, the flying hrs. for figher pilots are 180 hrs. compare to that of the US of 189.

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ff UCSD?? Do you have a car or do you ride the #20 bus?? I lived in San Diego for 26 years. Great place. I live in Iowa now.ff

I think those figures are what US pilots get on the average. Because I know pilots in training get only about 150 hours a year. But they also get about 100hours a year in the simulator. What does the book say?