Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth: Chinese Air Force Employment Concepts in the 21st Century

This monograph analyzes publications of the Chinese military, previously published Western studies of Chinas air force, and information available in published sources about current and future capabilities of the PLAAF. It describes the concepts for employing forces that the PLAAF is likely to implement in the future, analyzes how those concepts might be realized in a conflict over Taiwan, assesses the implications of China implementing these concepts, and develops recommendations about actions that should be taken in response. The book should be of interest to defense planners, analysts of Chinas military forces, policymakers, and anyone else interested in Chinas military modernization and its implications for the United States and Taiwan. The book is the result of a project called Chinese Air and Space Power, the purpose of which was to help the U.S. Air Force USAF understand how the Chinese military thinks about air and space power, how China might employ air and space power in a confrontation with the United States, and how the USAF can better counter Chinese doctrinal and operational concepts.