China’s J-20 jet fighters are no longer being kept away from the glare of the media since they entered service in March. Quite the opposite – party mouthpieces have been creating a buzz around the nation’s indigenous fifth-generation fighters, hailed as the cachet of the Chinese military’s air defense technology and manufacturing.
State broadcaster China Central Television aired an interview of a J-20 test pilot last week, who revealed that the brand-new air-superiority fighters, developed by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, will be primarily deployed for precise and decapitation strikes, taking advantage of their all-aspect stealth even when armed, as well as low probability of radar interception.
The hangar in the background of the above photo has also piqued intense interest: It appears that J-20s can be parked in an ordinary hangar rather than one with constant temperature and humidity, while the US Air Force’s multirole F-35 Lightning II fighters are very expensive to maintain as they must be kept in a highly regulated environment to protect their ultra-delicate stealth coatings.
This means J-20s are more economical and easier to manage and can respond to emergencies more quickly than F-35s, noted an observer.
It has been reported that the US and British militaries have decided to reduce the F-35’s airborne time, rather than splurging money on an aircraft that is mocked by Chinese media as “eye candy.”
Beijing-based military magazine Ordnance Industry Science and Technology has also revealed that J-20 appear to be 20.77 meters in length, featuring a long and slim fuselage, with a wingspan of 12.99 meters and merely 15 tons in empty operating weight, after analyzing photos of the fighters. Judging from these specs, the fighter will be more nimble in real combat than foreign estimates.
With its compact dimensions and airframe, the J-20 may have no limits on takeoff from or landing on the next generation of aircraft carriers, Chinese news portal Sina reports, citing a source with the Dalian Shipyard, where the construction of China’s first nuclear-powered carrier is said to have commenced.
No fewer than 20 J-20s have been delivered to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, at a time when the Pentagon has stationed 12 F-35As at its Kadena Air Force Base in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture.
Ralph Apmann Ad Hominem attacks are logical falacies and denote a losing argument.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443612/f-35-donald-trump-should-cancel-failed-f-35-fighter-jet-program
Ali Clelland-ball yes, in the avionics Americans are strong. Russians are catching up. But they’re closing the distance, and in missile technology they’re better than the Americans
Ralph Apmann True, true. But they are catching up fast. The Russians also are catching up fast too.These are facts. They are slowly but surely catching up soon. So what is America going to do ? They should have proxy wars to prove this point.
It’s the avionics and weapons systems that set them apart. The only way to test them in peace time is if they held war games together. Personally I’d stick with the typhoon. A much better weapons platform.
Eddie Chinn in war, there is no clear cut rules, with no clear cut rules only the shrewd will win.
your ignorance to the real fact makes you look like living in virtual reality my friend…yeah right the 11 air craft cariers are inferior to your liao ning.. and your copied planes from russia
Ralph Apmann the J20 is. #5G, while F15, F16 are 4 G,.so no way to compare unless with F22 , F35. … so sad that India got no stealth fighter jet., so again no where to compare…. never n. ever talk big, maybe need a war to. prove and it is too bad.
Yeah, lets see how long can these J20 fly.
Waiting for provocation so that can be tested in any real fight..
Useless to talk only..
Damn… I hope it could last a day against F-22
Ralph Apmann
So you better ask your dad or grandfather to fly future missions as they are so good.
Try fighting real nations not defenceless nation’s planes with export models.
Anyway, US is behind China in almost any area except in numbers
YOU CAN BLAME SNODEN FOR THE SUDDEN LEAP IN HIGH TECH!
Really….. so our roughly 200-1 shoot down advantage vs all nations, planes and pilots over the last 30 years worldwide is just hubris huh? Sounds like you are just a silly negative troll, who can’t accept the fact that we are 10x better than the Chinese and I would bet my life that the j20 could not compete with a f15 or f16, avionics, electronics, radar, training ect, we’re just plain better and you can say what you want, the numbers PROVES it!
F-35 is and will be the most expensive crap on the shoulders of NATO alleys. To minimize the maintenance cost, it will fly as less as possible. That is its being stealth.
Damn that is one UGLY plane!
Cutting flying time means less experienced pilots for the F-35. Americans are living in a fantasyland of virtual reality; and the hubris of the virtual reality will be deadly for the time a real war starts.
You got nothing to worry about then. Relax
cool…now put it in a real fight!
What a miracle of miracles if the people who can’t build a reliable jet engine right much less a supercruise capable jet engine suddenly leap ahead 40 years in tech.
But, if Iran can build a miracle 5th generation stealth fighter, China certainly can.