J-20: China’s First Stealth Fighter – Military aviation during the second half of the twentieth century was primarily dominated by U.S. and Soviet development.
While some other nations were able to put up capable fighter aircraft such as Sweden’s Saab Gripen or France’s Dassault Rafale, in general, it was the two superpowers who produced the most advanced, effective combat aircraft. Following the end of the Cold War, a new player emerged on the aviation scene: China.
To date, it is only the third country behind the U.S. and Russia to produce a modern, fifth-generation fighter, the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon.
J-20: Introducing China’s First Fifth-Generation Fighter
In the late 1990s, the Chinese aerospace industry was beginning to really hit its stride. Most designs up until then were copies of successful Soviet aircraft with little innovation done in-house. Even in the early 2000s, they continued to reverse engineer Soviet and Russian designs such as Mig 19, Su-27, and Su-33. By contrast, Chengdu aircraft the JF-17 and the J-10, both went active in the early-2000s and proved China could develop its own fighter aircraft. The J-20 is the culmination of decades of modernization and study to develop and produce a highly advanced fighter fully in China, without relying on Western or Russian designs or parts. The J-20 is a fifth-generation twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter with apparently formidable capabilities.
Work first began on the J-20 in the late 1990s with its first flight coming in 2011. By 2017, it was in active service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Its design contains many features now easily recognizable on fifth-generation aircraft. Blended wings and fuselage, internal weapons bays, diverterless supersonic inlets, and radar-absorbent coating all give it a very low radar cross-section, making it a stealthy customer.
Specs and Capabilities
Inside the aircraft, its avionics and sensor systems are rumored to be top-of-the-line. Communications equipment mounted on top of the aircraft suggests an ability to datalink with friendly assets while it has been speculated it contains a new and advanced active electronically scanned array radar. Furthermore, the J-20 uses a system of optical sensors as well as EOTS-86 developed by Beijing A-Star Science and Technology to track and lock on to other stealth aircraft.
One of the points of pride for China’s aerospace industry is the domestically designed and produced engines now used in the J-20. Initially, the J-20 was powered by AL-31 engines designed in Russia. By 2021 however, Chinese media reported that the J-20 was being powered by the WS-10C, a homegrown engine capable of thrust vectoring and supercruise, two other essential elements of modern, fifth-generation fighters.
Can the J-20 Really Confront American Fifth-Gen Fighters?
The question facing the defense establishment is whether or not the J-20 is actually capable of rivaling or even beating the best American fighters, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightening II. While some of the external characteristics such as speed and performance ceiling can be tracked and measured, it is ultimately the sensor fusion and command and control aspects that may make the difference in combat.
- J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Chinese internet.
- J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
From 19FortyFive
