Taking Stock Of China's Airpower Build-up In Tibet

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) seems to have taken serious note of India
's determination since 2007 to beef up its force projection capabilities along t
he arc stretching from eastern Ladakh all the way up to the India-Nepal border a
djacent to the southwestern portion of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in turn
is now proceeding to counter India's moves by undertaking its own build-up of of
fensive airpower capabilities in the same area. Translated for the layman, it me
ans that A) the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will realise its tactical objecti
ves on the ground by resorting to massed fire-assaults (against forward-deployed
Indian ground forces) delivered by a numerically superior deployed force compri
sing tactical non-line-of-sight battlefield support missiles (NLOS-BSM) and long
-range multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL) capable of firing rockets equipped w
ith sensor-fuzed munitions (SGM); B) such rocket artillery-based weapons would b
e employed for the 'deep battlespace' in tactical areas that are ideally suited
for deployment of such weapons, i.e. the flat, locational deserts around eastern
Ladakh and the foothills opposite Uttarakhand State; C) while increased use wil
l be made of NLOS-BSMs and tactical ballistic missiles (TBM) to neutralise the I
ndian Air Force's (IAF) offensive airpower generation capacities that would be l
ocated in Jammu & Kashmir (J & K), the PLA Air Force's (PLAAF) manned combat air
craft backed up by AEW & C platforms would be employed for blunting/neutralising
any localised ground offensives (during the contact battle phase) that could be
mounted by the Indian Army.However, when it comes to interdicting the supply li
nes of India's forward-deployed ground forces in both eastern Ladakh, Himachal P
radesh and Uttarakhand, the PLA plans to employ a combination of massed fire-ass
aults from heavy-calibre MBRLs as well as battlefield air interdiction sorties c
arried out by Su-30MK2s and J-10s, with the Su-27SKs being employed along with t
he ZDK-03 AEW & CS platforms for defensive counter-air and airborne battle manag
ement taskings. And it is exactly for engaging in such scenarios that the PLA co
nducted its first joint expeditionary Army-Air Force live-fire exercise on the Q
inghai-Tibet plateau (at an altitude of 15,420 feet, or 4,700 metres) between Ju
ly 27 and August 9, 2010 that involved an infantry battalion of the PLA Air Forc
e's (PLAAF) XV Airborne Corps and six Su-27SKs drawn from the 97th Regiment of t
he Chongqing/Baishiyi -based 33rd Fighter Division (95661 Unit). Preparations fo
r this exercise began in March 2010 and by May a train loaded with combat suppor
t equipment like ZBD-03 armoured infantry fighting vehicles had arrived in Lhasa
using the Qinghai-Tibet railroad, the first time ever that the GLD's Military T
ransportation Department had made use of this railroad.This was followed by anot
her An-32B landing at the refurbished ALG at Fukche (at 14,200 feet ASL) on Sept
ember 24, 2008, with the Nyoma ALG, south of Chushul, at 13,400 feet ASL being a
ctivated on on September 18, 2008. The 3,400 feet-long ALG at Dharasu at an alti
tude of 2,950 feet in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi hills bordering China was made op
erational in the second half of 2010 without much fanfare. All these ALGs facing
the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will eventually have a 3km runway length and w
ill be used for aerial logistics support. According to the PLA's appreciation,
these air bases and ALGs will be ideal targets for the PLA Army's NLOS-BSMs and
TBMs, which have already been stockpiled in both Xinjiang and Aksai Chin. To dat
e, 13 tunnels dug into the mountains have been built at Xiadulla, 98km from the
Karakoram mountain pass between Ladakh and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
, while another similar NLOS-BSM storage facility is located at Qizil Jilga, 40k
m off the LAC in eastern Ladakh near the Western Tibet highway.
However, when it comes to interdicting the supply lines of India's forward-deplo
yed ground forces in both eastern Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the
PLA plans to employ a combination of massed fire-assaults from heavy-calibre MBR
Ls as well as battlefield air interdiction sorties carried out by Su-30MK2s and
J-10s, with the Su-27SKs being employed along with the ZDK-03 AEW & CS platforms
for defensive counter-air and airborne battle management taskings. And it is ex
actly for engaging in such scenarios that the PLA conducted its first joint expe
ditionary Army-Air Force live-fire exercise on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau (at an
altitude of 15,420 feet, or 4,700 metres) between July 27 and August 9, 2010 tha
t involved an infantry battalion of the PLA Air Force's (PLAAF) XV Airborne Corp

s and six Su-27SKs drawn from the 97th Regiment of the Chongqing/Baishiyi -based
33rd Fighter Division (95661 Unit). Preparations for this exercise began in Mar
ch 2010 and by May a train loaded with combat support equipment like ZBD-03 armo
ured infantry fighting vehicles had arrived in Lhasa using the Qinghai-Tibet rai
lroad, the first time ever that the GLD's Military Transportation Department had
made use of this railroad. In addition, for the second year in a row, the PLA A
rmy and the PLAAF last year conducted Brigade-level live-fire exercises on the f
oot of the snowcapped mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of m
ore than 5,000 metres. Though the exercises, dubbed as Integrated Joint Operatio
ns (IJO), were conducted under the command of the Tibet Military District, which
comes under the Chengdu Military Region (MR), a few select field artillery and
armoured formations belonging to the Lanzhou MR also took part in the combined a
rms exercises, which got underway last July and lasted till last October.PLAAF e
lements again deployed in 2011 Shigatse air base between last August and Novembe
r, these being six Su-27SKs and three Su-27UBKs from the Chengdu Military Region
's (MR) Chongqing/Baishiyi-based 33 Fighter Division's with 98 and 99 Air Regime
nts, and three J-10s from the Mengzi-based 44 Fighter Division's 131 Air Regimen
t (based in Luliang). While some of the Su-27SKs engaged in defensive counter-ai
r sorties, others were armed with 122mm S-13 and 266mm S-25 air-to-ground rocket
s for straffing runs. The J-10s on the other hand were armed with PL-11 beyond-r
ange and PL-8 within-visual-range air combat missiles for air superiority taskin
gs, and also took part in daytime precision strikes by dropping LT-2 laser-guide
d bombs (LGB), which were guided to their targets in both daytime and at night b
y man-portable laser target designators. And in another first for the PLAAF, a d
etachment of four J-10 MRCAs from 131 Air Regiment began a two week-long deploym
ent at Shigatse starting January 21 this year, during which tactical airspace do
minance exercises were conducted in coordination with the PLAAF's ground-based a
irspace surveillance radar stations deployed within the Tibet Military District.
And last February, a detachment of four J-10s from the 131 Air Regiment practic
ed the dropping of LT-2 LGBs (which were guided to their targets in both daytime
and at night by man-portable laser target designators) and gravity bombs. Shigat
se is now being upgraded into Tibet's first all-weather air base capable of sust
aining high-intensity offensive air sorties, and is now protected by the JL-3D-9
0A long-range airspace surveillance radar, a Battery of HQ-12/KS-1A MR-SAM air d
efence system and a combination of FN-6 MANPADS, LD-2000 point-defence systems,
and SmartHunter low-probability-of-intercept radars. During hostilities, Shigats
e, falling under the Lanzhou MR, could also receive reinforcements from the Yinc
huan AB-based 6 Fighter Division with 16 (Su-27SKs and Su-27UBKs), 17, 18 & 139
Air Regiments; Wulumuqi AB-based 37 Fighter Division comprising 109 (J-8Fs at Ch
angji), 110 (Urumqi South) & 111 (with J-11s at Korla-Xinhiang) Air Regiments; a
nd Wugong AB-based 36 Bomber Division with its 106, 107 (Lintong) and 108 (Wugon
g) Air Regiments, and the 93942 AAA Missile Brigade.Since all types of combat ai
rcraft to be operated over Tibet have to fly at the critical limit of their resp
ective flight envelopes with reduced safety margins, and since the unpredictable
weather there calls for a high level of flying skills (veteran pilots' oft-repe
ated warning is: "you can take chances with the hills, you can take chances with
the weather, but it is suicidal to take chances with the weather and the hills
at the same time".), it will be interesting to see in future whether:
The PLAAF initiates the development of rocket-powered LGBs (like the AASM from SAGE
M) for its Su-27SKs and J-10s, since such PGMs offer distinct advantages over th
eir gliding counterparts when used for hitting targets located at high altitudes
.
The 106, 107 and 108 Air Regiments are equipped with newly-built H-6K bombers that
are capable of launching CJ-10K air-launched cruise missiles.