PLA Army Aviation Development:A Defensive Neoclassical Realist Perspective

• Main Authors: YANG, LI-YING, 楊立瑩
• Other Authors: YANG,SHIH-YUEH
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/ud4qt5

碩士 === 國防大學 === 戰略研究所 === 107 === Aviation is closely related to ground warfare. Since all nations around the world have developed their air power as an independent service, the army avia-tion has emerged in quickly operating helicopters over a variety of terrain with dynamic characteristic. Tasks such as evacuation, observation, transportation, and even attack have gradually become important indicators for the military modernization of land forces. PLA has a late start on developing its Army air force. In 1985, the Chinese Communist Party decided to form the army aviation. On January 8, 1998, the first army aviation of the PLA Army was formally es-tablished in the Beijing Military Region. Some of the Army’s mechanized group armies in the other Military Regions also established helicopter groups and transformed to be the aviation regiments later. By 2013, the Communists had changed the aviation regiments in the six military regions, including the Beijing Military Region, the Shenyang Military Region, the Lanzhou Military Region, the Guangzhou Military Region, the Nanjing Military Region, and the Chengdu Military Region, into Army aviation Brigades. From the late 2015 to early 2016, in accordance with so-called "deepening national defense and military reform" of the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA established the military army leadership, and the Army aviation was directed under the Army's command. The Army aviation has currently grown from the one regiment to seven brigades. The total number of helicopters has increased from 153 to more than 1,000 and the unit has made a considerable progress in this regard. However, the question on “how much does such growth contribute to the strength of the PLA?” reminds un-known. This study advocates that under the constraints of various innate factors, even if the PLA continues to expand their Army's aviation in the future, the ac-tual combat advantage is still limited. The reason why the PLA vigorously de-velops its Army aviation force, from the observation of the neoclassical realism, is to demonstrate the achievement of Army's modernization as well as nation's, to inspire nationalism with the military and national modern image it represents in order to meet the need of consolidating the legitimacy of its communist regime.