PLA Enhances Capabilities Following Government’s Modernization Drive

Citing the modernization drive initiated by the government, experts and observers have lauded the enhanced capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Since the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) kicked off, China has achieved remarkable military milestones.

"Since 2011, China has been testing two fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, an accomplishment most of us didn't dare to think about 10 years ago," Wu Peixin, a Beijing-based aviation observer, shared.

"With their development proceeding rapidly and smoothly, the PLA Air Force will soon have one of the world's top fighter jets," Wu added.

The observer further noted that with the continued research and development efforts, the government was able to propel the aviation industry to its golden period.

Back in Jan. 2011, China was able to conduct the pilot test flight of the first ever J-20 stealth fighter jet prototype. It became the third country to do so, after the United Stated and Russia.

The country tested J-31, its second 5G stealth fighter, less than two years later. In Nov. 2014, the jet made its public debut at an air show in the Guangdong Province.

In September, a test facility owned by the Aviation Industry Corp. of China, made a number of test flights for the latest J-20 prototype.

Moreover, the past five years have seen the PLA Navy and Air Force commission a number of advanced support aircraft, further boosting the groups' information processing and electronic warfare capabilities.

"The deployment of these electronic-operation aircraft is helping the PLA to build a unified information platform capable of integrating and coordinating combat aircraft and ground weapons, as well as naval hardware," Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge, remarked.

The recent period has also witnessed how the country introduced tanks, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles at par with other countries, Shanghai-based military observer Gao Zhou noted.