How Many Fighter Jets Does China Produce Annually?

Summary China produces around 240 J-10, J-16, and J-20 fighter jets annually, plus J-11s and J-15. Recent advancements show an increase in Chinese jet production, with a focus on new engines. Concerns arise about China surpassing the US Air Force in fighter jet production.

How many fighter jets does China produce? Estimating Chinese production numbers is not as easy as in the West (where the manufacturers disclose their production numbers). The number of aircraft produced by the Chinese Air Force (properly the People's Liberation Army Air Force or PLAAF) can only be estimated. The numbers below do not include the JF-17 Thunder jointly produced with Pakistan .

A laggard no more For many years, the Chinese fighter jet industry was somewhat a laggard. Chinese Cold War fighter jets were mostly Soviet jets produced under license. China continued to produce the ancient Chengdu J-7 (a copy of the Soviet MiG-21 Fishbed ) as late as 2013 (although for export).

Today, many of China's fighter jets are old Soviet jets or licensed copies. Much of the Chinese Air Force's inventory is based on the Soviet/Russian Su-27 Flanker. Other legacy aircraft in Chinese inventory are Soviet copies.

For example, the Shenyang J-11 and J-16 are licensed copies of the Su-27 Flanker. China also purchased Russian Su-27 Flankers, Su-35s, and Su-30s (both modern variants of the Su-27) in large numbers. Select country's fighter jet production rates: Fighter jets Estimated number China: J-10, J-16, J-20 approx.

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