中国解放军空军正因反腐清洗主要集中在陆军、海军与火箭军而扩大影响力。周一，习近平亲自颁令，晋升杨志斌、韩胜延为空军上将；杨任东部战区司令、韩任中部战区司令，而前东部战区司令林向阳于10月因贪腐指控被开除党籍。这种人事更替为空军军官在关键岗位上加速上升创造空间。
缺席名单也呈现量化迹象：本月中央经济工作会议有4名高级军官缺席，4个「代行」席位中有3个由空军军官出席。在10月的四中全会上，四军种与武警中，只有空军同时由司令与政委到场；海军、火箭军与武警代表缺席，陆军仅由政委陈辉代表（他去年才从空军转任）。五大战区的两名主官中，出席者有3人，其中2人来自空军。
反腐方面，国防部10月表示共有9名解放军官员被取消党籍（含林向阳及中央军委成员何卫东、苗华），其中空军为0人。空军也非完全免疫：2023年12月，前空军司令丁来杭因「严重违纪违法」被全国人大常委会免职；12月15日，解放军宣布征集空军不当采购线索至6月底。军事需求同样推动空军地位：侵台作战高度依赖制空；无人化趋势加深，九天无人机可在飞行中投放最多100架无人机，并与可高空侦察的CH-7隐形无人机于本月首飞。
China’s air force is gaining influence as anti-graft purges hit other PLA branches harder. On Monday, Xi Jinping personally promoted Yang Zhibin and Han Shengyan to air force general; Yang commands the Eastern Theater (Taiwan/East China Sea) and Han leads the Central Theater (capital defense). Their predecessor in the East, army-rising Lin Xiangyang, was expelled from the Party in October over corruption allegations, opening room for air force advancement into top posts.
Attendance patterns quantify the shift: 4 senior officers were absent from this month’s Central Economic Work Conference, and 3 of 4 acting substitutes were air force. At the October plenum, among four services plus the armed police, only the air force had both its commander and political commissar present; navy, Rocket Force, and police were absent, while the army was represented only by commissar Chen Hui, transferred from the air force last year. Across five theater commands’ top pairs, 3 attended, including 2 from the air force.
On purges, the Defense Ministry said in October that 9 PLA officials lost Party membership (including Lin and CMC figures He Weidong and Miao Hua), with 0 from the air force. The air force is not immune: in December 2023, ex–air force commander Ding Laihang was removed from the NPC for serious violations, and on Dec. 15 the PLA sought tips through end-June on improper air force procurement. Strategy also drives prominence: a Taiwan invasion would rely heavily on air power, and unmanned trends are rising—Jiutian can launch up to 100 drones midflight and, like the CH-7 stealth drone, made a first flight this month.