Chinese airpower is in the midst of a difficult transformation as its military attempts to modernize. Part of this renewal involves buying foreign technology like Russia's Su-27 family of aircraft and SA-20 strategic surface-to-air missiles. A parallel, harder-to-track trend is the effort by China's defense industries to stretch themselves by developing more sophisticated indigenous aircraft and missiles. This is a key concept for revitalizing the nation's aging line of military exports, which—if successful— would help fund modernization. China also is contemplating a more aggressive competition with Russian exporters such as fighter air-framer MiG and anti-aircraft missile manufacturer Antei-Almaz. Some of the fruits of this investment were on display Nov. 1-7 at Zhuhai during Air Show China. The following stories look at China's growing number of fighter and missile programs, and offer a Washington perspective of why the country's aspirations, as well as its potential as an arms exporter, are attracting the Pentagon's interest.
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