StarAir, formally Hunan Sunward Technology Co., Ltd., saw its SA218 conduct its maiden flight on October 1. It now appears to be one of two, perhaps three, contenders for the PLA's basic trainer requirement intended to replace the aging CJ-6. The other publicly known option is the TA-20 from Wuhu Zhongke Aircraft.
Performance. Cost. Scale.
Bear with me for a bit.
When discussing military procurement, three factors tend to matter:
- Performance: Does the system meet the requirement?
- Cost: What does it cost to acquire and sustain? (BBC- but at what cost)
- Scale: How many can be built, and how quickly?
The first two are fairly well understood.
There's certainly no shortage of commentary, from defense professionals to YouTube armchair generals, on how to counter China. Opinions cover the entire spectrum, as one would expect. One thing I've noticed is that commentators with military backgrounds tend to focus heavily on performance and the "wiz-bang" capabilities of a weapon system. Some venture into cost considerations. Scale, however, is often treated as an afterthought.
By contrast, commentators from industry or business backgrounds often spend more time discussing manufacturing capacity, supply chains, and production throughput.
Oddly enough, the group that frequently talks about all three, performance, cost, and scale, tends to be WWII historians. After all, WWII was as much a contest of industrial systems as it was a contest of armies.
The CJ-6 Replacement and Competing Chinese Designs
If we go back to the PLA's effort to replace the CJ-6, the procurement approach superficially resembles the old Soviet design bureau model.
For those who follow military aviation, names like Mikoyan (MiG), Sukhoi, Tupolev, and Yakovlev are familiar. Multiple organizations competed to satisfy military requirements, with the state ultimately choosing a winner.
China appears to have a similar arrangement at first glance. Names such as Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), Xi'an Aircraft Corporation, and Nanchang Aircraft Corporation regularly appear behind major PLA aircraft programs.
The comparison works only up to a point.
The Soviet OKBs were primarily design organizations. Actual manufacturing was often carried out by separate factories. China's aviation industry is structured differently. Companies such as Chengdu and Shenyang are largely vertically integrated organizations, handling design, development, testing, and production under the broader AVIC umbrella.
A useful example is the relationship between Chengdu and Shenyang.
Chengdu produced aircraft such as the J-10 and J-20, while Shenyang developed the J-11, J-15, J-16, and more recently the J-35. In spirit, this resembles the old MiG versus Sukhoi rivalry. In practice, however, both organizations sit inside a much larger state-owned industrial structure and benefit from shared suppliers, electronics firms, engine developers, and government coordination.
The result is competition, but competition within an integrated industrial system.
Why Scale Matters
If China's electric vehicle and shipbuilding industries are any guide, vertically integrated firms can scale production rapidly once a design matures.
That matters.
- Performance gets government attention.
- Cost gets finance department attention.
- Scale wins wars.
A company capable of designing and manufacturing in-house can spread fixed costs across large production runs, streamline supply chains, and reduce per-unit costs over time. Scale itself becomes a competitive advantage.
This is one reason why I find the CJ-6 replacement competition interesting. Beyond finding a suitable trainer, it serves as a glimpse into how the PLA may be leveraging broader industrial capacity.
Another noteworthy trend is the willingness to allow civilian firms to bid on certain categories of equipment.
A basic trainer aircraft is not a stealth fighter or an airborne early warning platform. It is relatively low risk, dual-use, and commercially adjacent. By opening the competition to civilian firms such as StarAir, the state can potentially free up its top-tier defense aerospace companies to focus on more advanced programs.
This may be a more significant development than it initially appears.
After all, every engineering team working on a trainer is an engineering team not working on a next-generation combat aircraft.
The Mengshi Example:The Dongfeng Mengshi family provides another useful example.
This is where China differs rather sharply from Russia.
The original EQ2050 Mengshi drew inspiration from the HMMWV concept but was built on the foundation of Dongfeng's commercial automotive expertise. Today, Dongfeng produces:
- Commercial trucks
- Civilian SUVs
- Military tactical vehicles
These products share portions of the same ecosystem:
- Manufacturing facilities
- Supply chains
- Engineering talent
- Component suppliers
Not every component is common, of course. Military vehicles require armor, military communications gear, electronic warfare systems, and other specialized equipment.
But the underlying industrial base already exists.
This is considerably easier when a country possesses one of the world's largest automotive industries.
One advantage China holds over modern Russia is not necessarily technological brilliance in any individual weapon system.
It's scale.
Russia inherited much of the Soviet military-industrial complex, but its civilian industrial base is far smaller.
China can leverage:
- Massive automotive production
- Large-scale electronics manufacturing
- Commercial drone companies
- Commercial shipbuilding
- Telecommunications industries
for military programs.
Examples include:
| Civilian Sector | Military Benefit |
|---|---|
| Commercial drone ecosystem | Military UAV technologies |
| EV battery industry | Military energy storage and power systems |
| Commercial shipbuilding | Naval construction |
| Semiconductor and electronics industry | Military electronics |
| Heavy truck industry | Tactical vehicles and logistics |
This broader strategy is often described as Military-Civil Fusion (军民融合).
Whether the policy achieves all of its intended goals is another debate entirely. However, it is difficult to deny that China has access to a much larger civilian industrial ecosystem than the Soviet Union ever had, and certainly more than modern Russia possesses today.
Final Thought:
None of this is intended to argue that China's R&D and procurement system is inherently superior. Outsiders rarely understand the internal workings of a military bureaucracy, and China's own media has reported no shortage of corruption investigations and procurement scandals over the years.
What it does suggest is that evaluating military power solely through the lens of weapon performance risks missing part of the picture.
The SA218 is interesting not because it might become the PLA's next trainer. It is interesting because it offers another window into how China approaches procurement: encouraging competition, leveraging civilian industry, and building systems designed not just for performance, but also for cost and scale.
As the old saying goes, quantity has a quality all its own. Performance, cost, and scale are not competing ideas. They are simply three parts of the same equation.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
Replacing the CJ-6 Basic Trainer for Good?
At the 2025 Dubai Airshow, China's new XJJ basic trainer made its first public appearance, offering the clearest sign yet that the People's Liberation Army Air Force may finally be preparing to retire the venerable CJ-6 from frontline basic training duties.
The XJJ program appears to be moving forward steadily, with reports indicating that the aircraft will be powered by a new turboprop engine developed to replace the aging HS-6A (Huosai-6A) piston engine that has powered generations of CJ-6 trainers. The shift reflects a broader modernization effort, bringing primary pilot training closer to the performance and operational characteristics of modern military aircraft.
The CJ-6 has had a remarkably long career. First flown in the late 1950s and entering service in the early 1960s, it became the backbone of Chinese military basic pilot training for decades. While often compared to the Soviet Yak-18, the CJ-6 was substantially redesigned by Chinese engineers and evolved into a highly successful aircraft in its own right (too successful as one might argue or the PLAAF really is that cheap) .
For generations of PLAAF, PLANAF, and civilian pilots, the CJ-6 represented the first step into military aviation. The aircraft earned a reputation for being rugged, forgiving, easy to maintain, and inexpensive to operate. Those same qualities helped it find a second life abroad, where large numbers of surplus aircraft were exported and became popular among warbird collectors and recreational pilots, particularly in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Even as newer trainers entered service, the XJJ for example, the CJ-6 remained difficult to replace. Its low operating costs and proven reliability made it a practical solution for basic flight instruction. However, the aircraft's piston-engine design increasingly contrasted with the needs of a modern air force training pipeline centered around advanced jet trainers and fifth-generation combat aircraft. There's rumor flying around (pun intended) that the PLAAF might have sixth-generation flying as well.
The appearance of the XJJ suggests that Chinese military planners finally have a successor capable of taking over the CJ-6's role. A modern turboprop trainer would offer better performance, lower lifecycle support challenges, and a training experience more representative closer to the contemporary military aviation.
That said, replacing the CJ-6 is more than simply introducing a new aircraft. It marks the possible end of one of the longest-serving training platforms in Chinese aviation history. Few military trainers anywhere in the world can claim over six decades of continuous service.
But, eventually every aircraft reaches the end of its journey.
PLAAF, it may finally be time to let the old trainer go. Long overdue. "Let It Go"
Wednesday, November 05, 2025
Elephant walk Nanchang CJ-6
Step aside, sixth-generation fighter Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, below is the pride of the PLAAF
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Nanchang CJ-6, the old and the new
As the PLA Navy intensifies its push train more naval aviators, it can rely on the time-tested CJ-6 as its basic trainer aircraft. Yup, the pilots who now command the cutting-edge J-35 stealth fighter began their careers in a far humbler 60-year-old, radial-engined trainer with tricycle landing gear.
Monday, December 30, 2024
Forever CJ-6
CCTV captured footage of a newly minted Nanchang CJ-6 taking off. Some in China requested that the PLAN be photographed a CJ-6 taking off from one of her new flattops, as a reenactment to a WWII Pacific Theater scene. Personally, I believe that's a terrific concept; let's do it.
Thursday, August 22, 2024
Yup, CJ-6 trainer still in production
This tiny trustworthy basic training is still in production after 60 odd years, according to this AVIC PR photo. It now has a civilian variant to offer as well.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Capitalism, can't have a modern Military–Industrial Complex wihtout it.
China to Further Open Defense Industry to Private Capital
2012-07-24 13:34:56 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Mao Yaqing
China's military authorities are planning to further open the country's defense-related industry to private capital.
Authorities says private investors will enjoy the same treatment as their state-owned counterparts in taxation and licensing.
CRI's Suyi has more.
The guideline released by the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army is designed to bring competition into the defense industry.
Private investors are encouraged to take part in weapon development, production and even the restructuring of state-owned enterprises.
It also highlights security protocols for private players and sets out to boost supervision for the sake of national security.
Yin Xingming, Deputy Director of the China Center for Economic Studies, says the plan is a good start.
"For long term benefits, all competitive industries should be open for private investment. And based on the experiences in the global market, encouraging private investment in the defense industry will help to beef up product standards and technical know-how."
Last year, China's J-20 stealth fighter had its first test flight, making China the third nation in the world to have stealth technology, right after the US and Russia.
However, most of the fighter jets are either produced by the AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation or the AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, both under the state-owned Aviation Industries of China.
In a bid to bring diversity to the industry, the latest guidelines pledge to shorten the period for qualification assessment and licensing for private investors who apply for weapon development and production.
However, Yin points out that an effective implementation of the guidelines needs facilitating measures.
"It does not provide detailed measures as to how to put the guidelines into action. Should we stick to the previous practice where stated-owned companies dominated the market, or should we open all sectors to private investment? Will the private companies be allowed to produce missiles on their own? These questions remain unsolved."
Yin also advises authorities to draft laws to protect the rights of private companies that are venturing into the field.
China will spend 670 billion yuan on the military sector based on this year's budget plan.
Back in 2005, the State Council released guidelines encouraging non-state owned capital to enter the defense-related industries.
However, state-owned enterprises still dominate the market, with some private businesses joining the industry as suppliers for electronic devices and other facilities.
For CRI, I'm Suyi.
*ttp://english.cri.cn/7146/2012/07/24/2702s713349.htm
