[JasonC]

The Chinese airforce is a thin cream of top of the line on a vast sea of airborne scrap metal. As in, 70% of their fighter aircraft are 1950s designs, and 20% are 1960s designs. The best are as good as the Russians have, one generation behind our own and equal to their neighbors (India, Taiwan, ROK, Japan etc - actually Japan remains superior with hundreds of F-15s with modern avionics etc). In numbers, their good stuff about equals any one of those neighbors but doesn't come close to all of them combined. Even without us in the mix.

Getting better, still not in our weight class. Note in the article this is presented as a pure domestic product, when actually it is final assembly of parts many key ones still supplied by Russia. Also note the comment in the article about the engine - Chinese has not yet fielded any modern jet engine produced domestically. This will be a first if it is. It is significant for that reason - it catches them up to Russian c 1980s or us c 1970s.

[donmeaker]

Most air forces: 95% hamburger, 5% dangerous.

US, NATO, Austrailia, Japan, and Israel are unusual, in that 80% and up are dangerous.

South Korea, Taiwan, and India are, in my uninformed estimation, in the second tier. Say 50% dangerous.

the rest: see first line.

North Vietnam had one fellow who was darned dangerous. The above isn't to say that those guys aren't there. It is to say that there are not very many of them.

And it takes a lot more time to get a trained air force than a trained pilot. Knowing how to use those pilots can only start after you have them.

In WWII it took 3 years for the US to figure out targeting. It took 7 years in Vietnam.