China's 3,000 New Aircraft Shelters Contrast Sharply with US's Two, Report Warns of Airbase Vulnerability

A recent analysis by the Hudson Institute reveals that China has constructed approximately 3,000 aircraft shelters over the past 15 years, including hundreds of hardened facilities designed to protect military aircraft. This significant build-up stands in stark contrast to the United States, which has added only two hardened aircraft shelters in the Indo-Pacific region during the same period, raising concerns about US airbase vulnerability. The disparity in infrastructure investment comes amid heightened global awareness of drone attack capabilities, exemplified by recent incidents in Russia.

According to the Hudson Institute report, "Concrete Sky: Air Base Hardening in the Western Pacific," the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has more than doubled its total number of hardened and unhardened aircraft shelters since the early 2010s. This expansion provides enough protected space to house the vast majority of China's combat aircraft, alongside additions of 20 runways and over 40 runway-length taxiways, increasing overall ramp area by nearly 75 percent. This concentrated effort is particularly notable within 1,000 nautical miles of the Taiwan Strait, where China now boasts over 650 hardened shelters.

Conversely, the United States military has made minimal additions to its airbase infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. The report indicates that since the early 2010s, the US has only added two hardened aircraft shelters and 41 unhardened individual aircraft shelters in the critical theater near the Taiwan Strait. This leaves US airbases, especially in regions like Japan and the Philippines, significantly exposed to potential strikes.

Experts warn that this imbalance creates a "destabilizing first-mover advantage" for China, as its forces would require far fewer munitions to neutralize US and allied airfields compared to the effort needed to target hardened Chinese bases. The report highlights that the overwhelming majority of potential US aircraft losses in a conflict would likely occur on the ground. This vulnerability is underscored by recent drone attacks on Russian bombers, as noted by Ashley Rindsberg in a tweet: > "Over the past 15 years, China has built 3,000 aircraft shelters, including hundreds of hardened shelters, to protect their planes against drone attacks like the one suffered by Russia last month, when a number of its bombers were destroyed by drones smuggled into the country. The US, by comparison, has added just two."

While US Air Force officials have historically favored active defenses and agile combat employment strategies, some analysts argue that passive defenses like hardened shelters are a cost-effective measure against modern threats. The Hudson Institute report urges the US Department of Defense to undertake a comprehensive campaign to enhance airfield resilience, emphasizing that such investments are crucial for deterring aggression and sustaining air operations in a contested environment.