An exclusive Combat Aircraft report on China's small but powerful bomber force, its vital fleet of aerial tankers and dwindling number of archaic maritime patrol amphibians. THE HISTORY OF CHINA'S current operational bomber types can be traced back to the start of close Sino-Soviet co-operation in the 1950s. The first long-range bombers to be operated were a number of Tu-4 medium bombers delivered to China in 1953. These Soviet-built, reverse-engineered B-29s were operated as a complement to the lighter Tu-2, another WW2 design. However, by the late 1960s it was clear that both types were highly vulnerable to virtually all air defense weapons, and as a result the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) decided to withdraw them from active combat service in the 1970s. It seems that only five Tu-4s were retained into the mid-1980s, used entirely for training and specialized missions, the latter including electronic intelligence and drone carrier. One final example became the ancestor of China's current AEW fleet, as the KJ-1 (see Combat Aircraft December 2010).
展开▼
