China builds smaller but more capable air force

According to the report, the PLAAF in 2007 fielded about 400,000 personnel and nearly 2,700 fighters, bombers, and attack aircraft. By 2025, the force numbers 403,000 personnel with roughly 2,284 combat aircraft. The headline figures conceal a steep dip during the early 2010s, when second- and third-generation jets were retired faster than new aircraft could enter service. At one point, combat aircraft fell to about 1,500 and personnel to around 330,000.

See the full article at stlbeacon.org