“High risk, high reward.”
China follows this principle in War Thunder. The country’s planes do severe damage, but their defense is weak—some have no defense.
Also, We advise you to read a helpful article: Best Swedish Tanks By Tier in War Thunder
Below we’ll break down the best planes of China in each Tier in 2025.
Don't forget to redeem War Thunder codes to get bonuses in the game. If you still don't have an account, use the instructions about registration with bonuses in War Thunder.
But if you’re in the mood for something different, we also have World of Tanks codes.
Tier I – CW-21
It’s an acceptable machine with decent power. It can catch up with early Spitfires regarding turning speed, which is a serious help. It also has a reasonable rate of climb, which comes in handy for diving, through which the CW-21 is mainly played.
However, it has no armor. None.
Tier II – A-29
A light bomber for destroying enemy bases. The A-29 is convenient for spamming—it can take up to 10 bombs, which is an unacceptable luxury for bombers of this class.
Surprisingly good maneuverability helps to dive.
However, the device’s armor, although it has (unlike the previous board), is ridiculously vulnerable. Critical parts like the cockpit have no protection at all.
Tier III – Mosquito FB.Mk.26
Amazingly maneuverable by the standards of a twin-engine fighter, the Mosquito FB.Mk.26 surprises with four nose cannons and excellent ammunition. But not without a spoonful of tar—they overheat quickly and often jam.
Otherwise, it is an excellent representative of its range. You only need to play it more carefully because the device is vulnerable. It has visible problems with armor. And since both pilots are located in the front cockpit, the death of one pilot = the death of the other.
Tier IV – Tu-2S-44
It is a fast bomber that is not particularly susceptible to wing detachment (this can only happen here at 700 km/h). It has a large payload, maneuverability, and a rare twin-tail design that frees up the hands of rear gunners.
The armor here is surprisingly good. It would be if the pilot were protected from the front, not just the rear and sides.
Tier V – H-5
A versatile and powerful bomber, it can carry up to 12 100-kg bombs (which is not very good because they are too weak), but after opening 3000-kg bombs, the picture is dramatically transformed. Bases are destroyed without apparent problems and in huge numbers.
In air combat, the ship should not be used – it is too vulnerable to fighters. Yes, the tail cannon will be able to fight back, but this is simply not its task profile.
Tier VI – Q-5A
Not a lousy fighter: good acceleration and a decent rate of climb. Energy conservation is also exemplary.
Although the Q-5A is not equal to the MiGs in terms of speed, it still has something to surprise—for example, missiles. There are signaling missiles (for some reason, rarely seen in Chinese airplanes) and 130-mm missiles with appreciable damage to ground targets.
Tier VII – J-8B
The J-8B is excellent against supersonic strategic bombers, its priority target. It has a reasonable rate of climb, high maximum speed, and above-average acceleration.
On the downside: huge size (bad for a fighter), tiny ammunition for 200 rounds and not very reliable radar.
Tier VIII – J-11
China’s signature fighter took the best of the J-8B and leveled the disadvantages of its predecessor. The J-8B, for example, had terrible radar. Now, the onboard computer is just fine. What’s more, there’s an IRST system for enemy detection. The only real disadvantage of the craft is that there are few precision weapons to fight ground targets.
