Thirty Years of China Airshow: Here’s Your Guide to the Exhibition!

The 16th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition will be held in Zhuhai, Guangdong from December 7 to 13. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the China Airshow. What hardcore equipment will be showcased?

01 Multiple Types of Air Force Main Battle Equipment Will Make Their Debut

This year's airshow will feature the People's Air Force presenting several heavyweight pieces of equipment, including mature main battle aircraft, upgraded platforms, and new combat forces. The airshow adheres to a systematic exhibition approach, with static displays and aerial flight performances arranged in parallel. Gao Xiang, Deputy Director of the Political Work Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force, stated: “Multiple types of main battle equipment will make their debut at the China Airshow, showcasing the Air Force's reconnaissance and early warning, air defense support, airborne unmanned applications, as well as intelligent equipment and munitions, fully reflecting our Air Force's enhanced readiness and combat capabilities, and showcasing the achievements of our Air Force's modernization efforts.”

It is noteworthy that the exhibited equipment is presented according to a combat logic system, covering multiple dimensions such as air assault, early warning support, ground air defense, and unmanned operations. Various advanced active equipment will be showcased together, highlighting the solid achievements of Air Force construction. Military commentator Fu Qianshao from China Voice's "Fengxian Liaowang" stated: With the development of each airshow, the variety of weapons and equipment displayed by the Air Force has increased. Many aviation equipment, air defense equipment, including various types of fighter jets, electronic warfare aircraft, bombers, transport aircraft, refueling aircraft, and other special aircraft. There are also surface-to-air missile systems, anti-missile systems, various radars, and unmanned aerial vehicles. These weapons and equipment, whether flying in the sky or displayed on the ground, will form a complete combat system.

This year's airshow has generated significant interest among the audience regarding which hardcore equipment will be showcased. According to the airshow's tradition, the exhibited equipment will mainly consist of active models that have already been put into service.

Fu Qianshao: What kind of Air Force equipment will be displayed at the 16th China Airshow? We can make a simple prediction. First, these are not equipment under development, but rather equipment that has already been equipped to our land, sea, and air forces. I think we can refer to last year's September 3 military parade, where many previously unheard of, high-performance new platforms appeared. For example, the Air Force showcased several different stealth fighter jets and several uniquely designed unmanned combat aircraft. We see that the Air Force has begun to equip more advanced, stealthy, and intelligent unmanned combat aircraft. Will these unmanned aircraft appear at this year's airshow? This possibility cannot be ruled out, and it is worth looking forward to.

The China Airshow not only focuses on showcasing the achievements of our national defense modernization but also, as the airshow's international influence continues to grow, Chinese military products are gaining more recognition in the global defense market, making it a "showcase" for military enterprises to the world.

Fu Qianshao: The airshow will display many physical pieces of equipment, such as some weapons from our aerospace sector, long-range rocket air defense missiles, launch vehicles, etc., all representing the level of advanced equipment that our military will be equipped with in the future. Many of the exhibited items may not necessarily be active equipment of our military or future equipment to be equipped, but are likely aimed at the export market. Previously, the airshow mainly showcased aerospace products, but now large group enterprises in aerospace, electronics, weapons, and shipbuilding will also present their products at the airshow.

02 First Establishment of a Maritime Equipment Exhibition Area

This year's airshow will feature over 3,000 pieces of equipment, with approximately 10% being "first exhibits" and "first showcases." In addition to the main exhibition area at the airshow center, there will also be a Lianzhou unmanned equipment display area and a Gaolan maritime equipment display area, featuring dynamic demonstrations of unmanned aerial vehicle countermeasures and showcasing the Navy's active equipment.

This year's airshow marks a significant breakthrough in exhibition area layout, innovatively achieving multi-dimensional coordinated displays of sea, land, and air.

In terms of equipment display, this year's airshow will open the Gaolan maritime equipment display area for the first time, where the Chinese Navy will showcase static displays of active vessels and land-based equipment such as amphibious armored vehicles.

03 Concentrated Debut of Intelligent Unmanned New Products

In addition to advanced active equipment, intelligent and unmanned equipment is another major highlight of this year's airshow. New products such as unmanned early warning aircraft, unmanned electronic warfare aircraft, and ground unmanned combat vehicles will make their debut.

This year, China Electronics Technology Group will showcase 550 cutting-edge products, including 73 military products that will be exhibited for the first time.

Yang Chunwei, Deputy Director of the Party Building Work Department of China Electronics Technology Group, introduced that in the indoor military product section, we will focus on the military cyber information system, mainly showcasing system solutions and typical products and capabilities for joint command, all-domain early warning detection, and electronic countermeasures, with a strong emphasis on recommending popular equipment such as unmanned early warning aircraft and unmanned electronic warfare aircraft.

The China Ordnance Industry Group will focus on showcasing the latest developments in land combat equipment, with a total of 468 exhibits, including 144 new and improved products, with intelligent and unmanned equipment becoming an important highlight. Cheng Kefe, Deputy Director of the International Business Department of China Ordnance Industry Group, introduced that we have significantly increased the proportion of intelligent and unmanned equipment. At this airshow, multiple types of drones, ground unmanned combat vehicles, and mechanical wolves will be presented for the first time.

04 Reusable Rockets Will Be Exhibited

A batch of products representing the latest independent innovation achievements in China's aerospace and national defense technology will be showcased.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will arrange its exhibition according to five major themes: "Entering Space, Utilizing Space, Exploring Space, Integrated Defense of Sky and Ground, and Low-Altitude Economy." The proportion of new exhibits is expected to exceed 70%, with exhibits such as the CZ-10B and maritime network recovery devices making their debut, marking the largest scale exhibition of "one heavy one reusable" rocket (heavy-lift and reusable rockets) at the airshow.

05 Two Foreign Military Flight Demonstration Teams Invited to Perform

The flight performance lineup in the blue sky at this year's airshow is highly anticipated. More than 170 aircraft have registered for the main exhibition area, setting a new historical record for the scale of participating aircraft. The Russian Aerospace Forces "Warriors" flight demonstration team has officially signed on, and the UAE Air Force "Knights" flight demonstration team will also be invited to perform. This marks the participation of two foreign military flight demonstration teams in the China Airshow for the first time since 2016, joining the Chinese Air Force August 1st Flight Demonstration Team to present a "Blue Sky Ballet."

The airshow features a vast array of exhibits and a wealth of professional information. To not miss the core highlights, attendees should have a strategy for viewing. Fu Qianshao offers some viewing tips for military enthusiasts:

Fu Qianshao: I suggest that the audience first pay attention to the August 1st Flight Demonstration Team, as they use the J-10C fighter jet, which is a third-and-a-half generation aircraft. So far, only the United States, Russia, and China have flight demonstration teams using fighter jets; other countries use trainer aircraft for their performances. In addition to the demonstration team's performance, there are often solo performances, which showcase the performance of individual aircraft and the skills of pilots flying advanced fighter jets. At this year's airshow, I believe that in addition to the performance of the August 1st Flight Demonstration Team, the J-20 stealth fighter will also make an appearance as per tradition. During the intervals of the performances, the audience can watch the ground displays of civilian and military aircraft, as well as various radars, air defense missiles, and even armored vehicles. The aircraft seen in the sky pass by quickly, but the static aircraft can be observed in detail.

After enjoying the aerial flight performances and closely observing the physical equipment in the outdoor area, the main highlight of the exhibition still lies in the indoor exhibition hall. Fu Qianshao stated that if the outdoor exhibits represent the "present," the indoor exhibits are likely to represent the "near future."

Fu Qianshao: Most of the equipment or products exhibited indoors are presented in model form. However, do not underestimate the models; some aircraft and drones that did not make it to the Zhuhai Airshow may be exhibited in model form. These models may be newly developed or still in the research and development stage. For example, the "Jiutian" unmanned aerial vehicle exhibited at the last airshow looked very large and impressive. Why could an unmanned aerial vehicle that had not yet flown be exhibited? It indicates that we are fully confident in bringing these to the blue skies of our motherland.

The public day tickets for this year's airshow will go on sale starting October 19 through the official online platform. The public can follow the official China Airshow website and official WeChat account to stay updated on relevant information. The official platform will release the exhibition area layout map, dining guide, transportation schedule, and flight performance schedule. The "Zhuhai Airshow" App and WeChat mini-program will provide audiences with new experiences such as AI tour guides, while also integrating live broadcasts of flight performances and ground dynamic demonstrations, allowing off-site audiences to enjoy the exhibition online and share the excitement.

Supervisor丨Wu Zhehua

Reporter丨Yang Jun Tian