Chinese Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is the aerial service of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the People's Republic of China. Established in 1949, it is the world's third-largest air force, operating J-20 stealth fighters, H-6 bombers, and a wide range of transport, AEW&C, and UAV platforms.

UAP Encounters

Chinese military UAP reports are historically sparse in Western archives but have surfaced through defector accounts and selective state media releases. Documented incidents in the UAP timeline include the 1977 PLAAF bomber encounter at 40,000 feet where a UFO allegedly disabled guidance systems and caused loss of the tail section, the Northern China incident where five fighter pilots lost navigation after a UFO disabled their aircraft, and Tianjin Airport radar UFO tracks.

Institutional Stance

China has maintained civilian UAP research centres at Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University at various periods since the 1980s. Former PLAAF officers including Colonel Sun Shili have spoken publicly about UFO research. State media coverage of UAP has become somewhat more open since the mid-2010s, and in 2021 the Chinese military reportedly confirmed the use of artificial intelligence to analyse UAP encounters with fighter jets.