A subtle attack on the F-35. Kopp's take on the Chinese Air Force.

Air Power Australia's Carlo Kopp has an interesting (though overblown) article in The Diplomat...I ordinarily dismiss whatever comes out of that shop without a second thought, but this section of Kopp's article caused me to raise an eyebrow and to do a number of Google searches to verify its accuracy...

For those that are interested though, a more accurate picture can be gleaned from the fact that about 5 years ago, China planned to field well in excess of 500 Russian designed Sukhoi Flanker fighters, a size comparable to the now declining United States Air Force fleet of around 600 Boeing F-15 Eagle fighters. The Flanker was designed to be a direct equivalent (in some respects superior) to the F-15, which is also the backbone of the Japanese and Singaporean fighter fleets.

Indeed, with an ongoing modernisation plan that will see all legacy aircraft types replaced by modern and much longer ranging replacements, the PLAAF will in numerical terms become the strongest air force in Asia, with the largest fleet of ‘tier one’ fighter aircraft globally, should the United States pursue its current plan to downsize and reduce the capabilities of its tactical air forces. In terms of air power alone, this will result in the single largest swing in the strategic balance in Asia since the 1940s.

The operative words are "planning"  --they haven't achieved parity but they're trying hard.  If for no other reason than the entertainment value and the pure hair raising "the Chinese are coming" tone to the article, I count it as a must read.