In China, the J-20 is already a symbol of national pride and achievement. The country’s first stealth fighter made its public debut last week at an air show in Guangzhou, where it performed acrobatics for an audience that included Chinese President Xi Jinping. The J-20 could very well be China’s ticket to the top tier of global aviation powers—if not tomorrow then certainly in 20 years or so.
The Trump administration has long accused China of stealing American intellectual property; Chinese firms have denied these allegations. But if this fighter proves as capable as U.S.-based analysts suggest, then it will be difficult to argue that Beijing hasn’t earned its place among the world’s best jet makers with its own technology
The J-20 is China’s first domestically produced fifth-generation fighter aircraft, and it’s become the star of the air show. The sleek black and gray jet can fly at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) without afterburners, making it a formidable adversary for other fighters in combat situations.
The aircraft has been in development for about 15 years, but it only entered service last year. It’s still being tested regularly by its pilots at an airbase near Chengdu in southwestern China.
It’s designed to help China compete with the most advanced fighters in the world, including the American F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.
The J-20 is a multi-role fighter that can perform air superiority, air interdiction, strategic strike, and Close Air Support missions. The aircraft is equipped with two engines and can carry up to eight tons of weapons on its wings. It has a smooth, snakelike exterior, wings that can pivot to make turns tighter, and internal weapon bays.
The J-20 is a stealth aircraft that can also serve as an air superiority fighter, a long-range interceptor, and even as a multi-role combat aircraft. That means it has the ability to fly long distances without refueling, while also being able to engage enemy targets at both long and short ranges during combat missions.
The J-20, of which China has only a handful in service, can reach speeds of up to 1,300 miles per hour—faster than sound—and is equipped with radar-jamming equipment and special materials designed to make it harder for enemy planes or missiles to detect it.
For comparison: the U.S.’s F-22 Raptor can fly at Mach 2; its B-2 bomber cruises at about 550 miles per hour; and its F-35 Lightning II—the most expensive weapons system ever built—will fly at 0%.
The J-20 is equipped with radar-jamming equipment that makes it hard for enemy planes to detect, and special materials that prevent it from being detected by infrared sensors. The plane also uses technologies like thrust vectoring and vectored-thrust engines to allow for high maneuverability, allowing the Chinese air force to counter U.S. stealth fighters in a dogfight.
According to military experts at the Pentagon, this could be an issue for American pilots who need their stealth fighters to get close enough so they can find their targets on the radar before firing missiles at them—that’s how you win any kind of fight, after all!
It may even be able to perform beyond-the-horizon strikes using data transmitted from other aircraft or satellites located hundreds of miles away.
The J-20 can use a stealthy coating to hide from radar detection while still transmitting data to other aircraft or satellites located hundreds of miles away. This means that if one of China’s other jets finds an enemy target on the ground, that information can be communicated directly to the J-20 pilot who will then fly into position for an attack—all without exposing themselves or their location. It may even be able to perform beyond-the-horizon strikes using data transmitted from other aircraft or satellites located hundreds of miles away.
The Chinese have been making great strides with technology for some time now—they’re behind many of the innovations that you use daily. Some examples include:
- the mobile phone, which was invented by a Chinese engineer named Gao Shijian;
- the first bullet train, which was built by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited;
- and the birth of the internet itself (although it should be noted that while it may have been invented by an American, its early days were nurtured and expanded by Chinese researchers).
The J-20 has led to much speculation in the eyes of western journalists. Since the aircraft is still in prototype, many have predicted that it will remain in that stage for some time. However, the currently estimated lifespan of the J-20 is 35 years, meaning that it could be a viable threat as early as 2021. By then, Lockheed Martin’s next-generation fighter F35 could be ready to replace the aging F22 Raptor.
Although the F35 will cost nearly $1 trillion dollars for procurement, maintenance, and design over its lifetime, each jet does not come cheap at $130 million dollars each (estimated cost). If China starts mass-producing the J-20 by then and keeps gasoline prices low enough for liquid fuel engines to remain affordable, western nations will be hard-pressed to keep up economically or militarily.
The development of the J-20, then, is a clear expression of China’s desire to become a global force in the emerging world order and a powerful nation that is not to be trifled with. It is one thing to develop such an aircraft for defensive purposes; it is another entirely when the aircraft’s capabilities are geared towards offense. The J-20 will undoubtedly be a fearsome aircraft; what remains to be seen, however, is whether or not it will meet its full potential.