The Beijing Military Region Air Force (MRAF), headquartered in Beijing city, is one of the seven MRAFs under of the PLA Air Force. It is the air component of the Beijing Military Region (MR), responsible for the air defence of the Chinese capital. The Beijing MRAF is under the dual leadership of the Headquarters Air Force (HqAF) and the Beijing MR. The commander of the Beijing MRAF is concurrently a deputy commander of the Beijing MR.
The Beijing MRAF deploys the strongest surface-to-air missile (SAM) strength among the seven MRAFs. Over the years the PLAAF has developed its most sophisticated and capable integrated air defence system (IADS) around Beijing, consisting of the Russian S-300PMU missile air defence systems, the indigenous HQ-2 and HQ-7 surface-to-air missiles, and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) guns, supported by a range of air surveillance radar. The current air defence strength in the Beijing MRAF includes SAM divisions (5th and 6th) and a SAM/AAA division (7th).
The aviation element of the Beijing MRAF includes the 7th Fighter Division based at Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, 15th Attacker/Fighter Division based at Huairen and Lingqiu, and 24th Fighter Division based at Yangcun and Zunhua. There is also a Training Base in Tangshan, and a Flight Test and Training Base in Cangzhou. The PLAAF 4th Flying College is located in Shijiazhuang.
Aircraft deployed by the Beijing MRAF include: J-11 (one regiment), J-8B (one regiment), J-8A (one regiment), J-7B (one regiment), J-7C/D (one regiment), Q-5 (one regiment). The Training Base at Tangshan is equipped with an unknown number of J-7B and JJ-7. The Flight Test & Training Base at Cangzhou is equipped with small numbers of J-10, Su-27, Su-30, J-8B, J-8A, J-7B, and JJ-7, but these aircraft are not in operational deployment.
Major airbases include Xijiao (Beijing), Nanyuan (Beijing), Shahe (Beijing), Zhangjiakou (Hebei), Hairen (Shanxi), Yangcun (Tianjin), Cangzhou (Hebei), and Tangshan (Hebei).
Command and control elements of the Beijing MRAF include the Datong Command Post, three radar brigades, a radar training regiment, and a communications regiment.
