According to Japanese reports, on December 7, the 40th F-35A fighter of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force completed its first flight in Nagoya City and will soon be delivered to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force for service.
The South Korean Air Force is equipped with 42 F-35A fighters, and the number of fifth-generation fighters owned by Japan and South Korea is as high as 82.
The U.S. military has also deployed a considerable number of F-35 series fighters at bases in Japan and South Korea, and now the number of fifth-generation fighters deployed by the United States, Japan and South Korea in northeast China has exceeded 100.
How does the PLA respond to the threat of stealth fighters?
One: The deployment of F-35 fighters in the United States, Japan and South Korea.
First of all, let's take a look at the deployment of stealth fighters of the US ** team in the Asia-Pacific region, as early as 2022, the US military deployed 6 F-35 fighters from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska at the Air Base in South Korea, and these 6 F-35 fighters are all from the 354th Air Force Wing of the US Army, which is the first stealth fighter wing deployed by the US military in the Asia-Pacific region, and it is equipped with 56 advanced F-35A stealth fighters.
The amphibious assault group of the US military stationed at the Sasebo naval base in Japan is also equipped with F-35B stealth fighters capable of vertical take-off and landing, so that the number of stealth fighters deployed by the US military in the Asia-Pacific region is basically the same as that of South Korea, roughly around 40.
In 2019, the first two F-35A stealth fighters were delivered to the South Korean Air Force, making South Korea the third East Asian country after China and Japan to install fifth-generation stealth fighters.
Today, all 40 F-35A stealth fighters have been delivered and installed in the 17th Fighter Wing of the South Korean Air Force, which is the first main wing of the South Korean Air Force to build with fully stealth fighters.
A modern air force fleet of 40 F-35A and more than 200 F-15K fighters has greatly enhanced the strength of the South Korean Air Force.
As the most important ally of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, the scale and quality of the equipment of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force have always been the top in Asia.
At present, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force has a total of three air squadrons, subordinate aviation combat regiments and flight teams, equipped with 87 F-2 multi-role fighters, 201 F-15J heavy fighters, 42 F-35 stealth fighters, and nearly 300 advanced fighters.
In the future, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the South Korean Air Force will continue to replace a large number of F-35A fighters to create two stealth air forces.
In the face of a group of strong enemies in the surrounding area, the PLA Air Force also had to replace a large number of stealth fighters to suppress the field
Two: The PLA Air Force has been reequipped with stealth fighters in large numbers.
The air force and naval aviation units of the PLA Air Force stationed in the northeastern region and the Shandong Peninsula region are the main force guarding the Korean Peninsula. Before the military reform, these air forces came from the air force of the Shenyang Military Region, the air force of the Jinan Military Region, and the air force of the North Sea Fleet.
After the military reform, the PLA Air Force readjusted the scope of its defense; first, the newly established air forces of the five major theaters replaced the air forces of the previous seven military regions; second, the fighter units under the naval aviation began to be transferred to the air force aviation units, and the navy's shore-based aviation units were transformed into carrier-based aviation units, focusing on the development of aircraft carrier-based aircraft units and amphibious assault ship carrier-based units.
Not long ago, in the mission to welcome the 10th batch of martyrs of the Korean Volunteers, a brigade of the Northern Theater Aviation Corps piloted the domestically produced J-20 to escort the martyrs of the Volunteers.
In the refitting of the PLA Air Force, three major laws are generally manifested: First, veteran heroic units that have made outstanding achievements during the war years are given priority in changing their outfits; second, combat-ready units on duty in key directions can also be given priority in changing their outfits with new-type domestically produced fighters; and third, aviation units that have performed well in major tasks can also be given priority in changing their outfits. No matter from which point you look at it, the refitting of a certain brigade of the air force aviation unit in the Northern Theater is a matter of course.
Judging from the history of warfare, the predecessor of this unit was the earliest heroic unit of the PLA Air Force, the famous Air Force mixed into the 4th Brigade, and it was also the first division-level unit of the Volunteer Air Force to enter the Korean War.
This main air force unit has participated in combat readiness tasks in key directions on many occasions, and has carried out training missions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on the front line of the South China Sea, and has performed an outstanding role after being equipped with J-20 fighters.
Today, thanks to the strong performance and sufficient production capacity of the J-20 fighter, more and more aviation units have been replaced with J-20 fighters.
According to foreign media reports, judging from the public tactical numbers, it is very likely that the PLA Air Force has been equipped with more than 200 J-20 fighters, and there are still many aviation units that are being sequenced and reequipped.
Not only is the J-20 produced and installed in a huge number, the Air Force version of the J-35 fighter has also been on the Internet, speculating from public channels that the test flight of the J-35 stealth fighter is very smooth, and the Air Force is also likely to choose to equip this fifth-generation stealth fighter with the J-20 fighter.
Since the first batch of J-20 fighters were delivered to the Air Force in 2017, in just a few years, the Chinese Air Force has been equipped with three-digit stealth fighters, and if the production cycle of 20-30 years is followed, it is no longer a dream for the Chinese Air Force to equip thousands of stealth fighters, it has entered reality.
2023 Annual Inventory Even though the United States, Japan and South Korea have deployed hundreds of F-35 stealth fighters around China, the production rate and installation speed of the Chinese Air Force's stealth fighters are still several times higher than that of potential opponents.