A report this month by the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) found a “dramatic increase” in the past five years in China’s capacity to contest Western air power, citing the production of “modern and highly capable” fourth- and fifth-generation fighters.
While the RUSI’s last estimate of Chinese combat air strength in 2020 suggested that the People’s Liberation Army was operating about 50 J-20 fighters at the time, its assessment in mid-2025 showed that the PLA Air Force was fielding about 300 J-20s.
According to RUSI, in the past five years the number of J-16 4.5-generation fighter jets has also increased sharply from about 90-100 units in 2020 to roughly 450 by the end of 2025.
“What these figures indicate, in practice, is that the proportion of fifth-generation and advanced fourth-generation fighters operated by the PLAAF has greatly increased since 2020 and will continue to do so,” it added.
The report said the production rates for the upgraded and technologically mature J-20A and the twin-seat J-20S variant reached about 120 aircraft per year.
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