Oops: China Is Testing New J-20A Mighty Dragon Fighter and It Could Have ‘Super Powers’

Summary and Key Points: China is accelerating the great-power technological race with the J-20A “Mighty Dragon,” a “fifth-generation-plus” variant featuring a redesigned airframe and the revolutionary WS-15 engine.

-Recent flight tests confirm the J-20A can now command unmanned aircraft—a capability typically reserved for 6th-gen fighters.

-With more thrust and supersonic range than the F-22 or F-35, this upgraded stealth fighter serves as both a lethal combat platform and a sophisticated command node.

-As Chengdu aims for $1,000$ operational airframes by $2030$, the J-20A poses a direct challenge to American aerial dominance over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

1,000 Stealth Fighters by 2030: China’s J-20A Is Breaking the U.S. Monopoly on Air Powe

Great-power competition is very much a game of technological one-upmanship. Air power dominance looms large, with each power working to introduce the most powerful stealth fighters. The United States has the F-22 and F-35, both products of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works.

Russia has the Sukhoi Su-57 “Felon.” China’s Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” is now upping the ante. According to reports, Chengdu is test-flying a possible “fifth-generation-plus” variant, the J-20A.    

Clarification on J-20A

The “J-20A” designation has been used before. It was previously applied to airframes that integrated the indigenously built WS-10C engine, after the original 40 production models produced in the 2010s used inferior Russian-supplied engines. 

As noted February 1 by Military Watch Magazine, “The J-20A instead refers to a new variant with a revised airframe design, with the most conspicuous difference being its redesigned rear canopy which reduces aerodynamic drag, enhances its efficiency in supersonic flight, and is likely to further improve stealth capabilities. The new variant integrates the WS-15 next-generation engine, with the first footage of a serial production fighter with the new powerplant having been published in late December 2025.”

China’s J-20 stealth fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

J-20 fighter. Image Credit: Chinese military.

J-20. Image Credit: Chinese Internet.

About that WS-15

The WS-15 engine significantly improves all aspects of the J-20’s flight performance, including range, while delivering greater power to onboard subsystems and reducing maintenance requirements.

If claims about the WS-15 are true, it will provide the J-20A with more thrust and power than any other fighter type in the world, as well as the longest high-supersonic cruising range.

About That “Landmark Testing”

Chengdu released video footage last month purporting to show J-20A aircraft carrying out test flights.

The manufacturer claimed that the aircraft successfully completed the tests, noting that these included manned and unmanned operations at both indoor and outdoor test sites.

The planes were also confirmed to have completed research & development and acceptance test flights.

Military Watch cites a Chinese military affairs commentator, Song Xinzhi (their employer is not specified), who told Chinese state media that the integrated operational capabilities of the entire aerial combat system, including manned-unmanned collaboration, were tested.

Air-ground collaborative command of multiple aircraft types across multiple bases was also tested, with the J-20 expected to serve as both a combat node and a command node. 

The ability to provide command and control for unmanned aircraft is expected to be a defining feature of sixth-generation fighters. Any fifth-generation fighter with such capabilities would stand out from the pack.

J-20 Fighter 2025 Photo. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

J-20S Fighter from China. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

J-20 Stealth Fighter Landing. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Song boasted that the systematic flight testing seen in the footage released by Chengdu “has completely transformed the aviation industry’s traditional model, which previously focused solely on manufacturing and conducting performance inspections.” 

Approximately 1,000 J-20-based airframes are expected to be operational by 2030.

Present Status of the J-20 and the Way Forward

Military Watch cited a RUSI report that praised the growing “sophistication and realism” of Chinese fighter training, “especially in the J-16 and J-20 fleets.” 

According to RUSI, “Aircrew routinely fly complex training and demonstration of force sorties involving fighters, bombers, tankers and [Airborne Early Warning and Control] aircraft, in coordination with each other and with [People’s Liberation Army Navy] surface action groups. This is especially noteworthy around Taiwan and in the Sea of Japan.”

There is no substitute for experience. The standard J-20 still has not yet been tested in real-world combat, unlike the battle-proven F-22 and F-35. But if Chinese President Xi Jinping does decide to invade Taiwan sooner rather than later, such experience will accrue very quickly.

Maj. Philip “Stonewall” Johnson, 514th Flight Test Squadron F-22 test pilot, sits in the last F-22 Raptor to complete the F-22 Structural Repair Program Nov. 24, 2020, prior to performing a functional check flight with the aircraft at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron processed 135 F-22s through the program by performing structural modifications to increase total flying hour serviceability on each aircraft by 8,000 hours. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alex R. Lloyd)

U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul Lopez, F-22 Demo Team commander, pulls into the vertical during the Battle Creek Field of Flight air show July 7, 2019. Maj. Lopez has over 1,500 hours flying both the F-15 Eagle and the F-22 Raptor and is in his second year as the commander of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Samuel Eckholm).

In addition, as Military Watch concludes, “Despite the J-20’s increasingly advanced capabilities and central role in China’s defense, the development of three separate sixth-generation long-range fighter types, the first of which is scheduled to enter service in the early 2030s, has raised questions regarding the future of the fifth-generation program and whether the aircraft may be phased out of production in little over half a decade.”

About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”