Modernization is a high priority for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The PLAAF seemed to jump ahead of its Western competitors when it displayed a mock-up of a sixth-generation fighter jet at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow. This aircraft would compete with the American Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. The concept Chinese stealth warbird is called the Baidi, or “White Emperor.”
Before we even get started, let’s get one thing out of the way: the so-called 6th Generation White Emperor ‘fighter’ is a mockup only.
That alone has created a lot of controversy and clearly it is not a flying aircraft. And, of course, China could never even build a working prototype. With that said…
White Emperor: China Is Thrilled About the Capabilities
Part of the futuristic Nantianmen Project, this airplane is planned to have advanced capabilities, such as flying into near-space, firing nuclear hypersonic missiles, and carrying ultra-stealth attributes. The internal weapons bays will carry a large payload, allowing strategic and conventional munitions.
The PLAAF is excited about the plane’s avionics and its aerial-combat capabilities. Maintenance is planned to be simplified to keep the White Emperor in the skies and enable high operational tempo.
The PLAAF and the aircraft’s manufacturer, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, hope the sleek design will increase speed and reduce radar signature. The airplane has a rounded nose that reduces drag to burst through the air with ease. The canopy over the cockpit will make the airplane difficult to spot with infrared or laser systems.
The wings are designed with a tailless “compact delta-style formation with sharply-designed ice-like edges,” according to Interesting Engineering.
The PLAAF calls this a “space-air” fighter, which means it could have anti-satellite capabilities, with long-range air-to-air missiles it could fire at very high altitude. Again, if it ever flies.
It will certainly have significant capacity in the internal weapons bays to carry these munitions. The White Emperor might also have lasers on board to eliminate satellites.
The PLAAF wants the White Emperor to fly at an unheard-of hypersonic speed of at least Mach 6.
The U.S. Air Force has acknowledged since 2022 that the PLAAF is developing its own equivalent to the NGAD. The Chinese are pursuing a “system of systems” approach to the design—similar to what the Americans are pursuing with the NGAD.
NGAD fighter from U.S. Air Force.
The White Emperor is designed to challenge the NGAD and the U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider next-generation bomber. For now, the Chinese seem to have jumped ahead of the NGAD program, which is still struggling to settle on a design and to cut its price from an eyewatering $300 million per unit.
The Air Force decided during the end of the Joe Biden administration to allow President Donald Trump and his new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, to review the program. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims to have a team reviewing defense-acquisition programs that are bloated and have not matured. This could mean the NGAD is headed for the chopping block.
Beijing Would Love Nothing Better Than to Eclipse the NGAD
China would enjoy it if the NGAD were abandoned. In the meantime, the White Emperor could progress toward regular flight to complete a test-and-evaluation program and move toward serial production. This is why proponents of the NGAD want the American sixth-generation project to move forward.
While capabilities such as near-space altitude and Mach 6 speed are likely exaggerations, the U.S. Air Force should take development of a next-generation Chinese airplane seriously. The program’s desired stealth attributes are likely attainable, as is the capability to carry nuclear-tipped hypersonic missiles. This program could produce a strategic warbird far superior to other Chinese fighters.
The United States must take budget realities under advisement as it plots a sixth-generation acquisition strategy that does not break the bank and avoids DOGE’s scalpel. The Americans will have to decide if the NGAD is worth pursuing to keep up with China’s high ambitionhats.
The decision will likely perplex policymakers cognizant of budgetary limitations. It could even turn out that the White Elephant is mere vaporware designed to bleed the resources of the U.S. military. Defense analysts in the West should pay attention to this new Chinese warplane to make sure it will not dominate the skies anytime soon.
But again, we don’t know if China even plans to built it or this was a tech demonstrator or something else. Time, as it always does, will tell.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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