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| J-20 Stealth Fighter |
by Chris Pocock
China’s stealth fighter programs recieved high marks in the Pentagon’s latest annual report to the U.S. Congress on the country’s military and security progress, released last week. The J-20 has advanced, with a fifth and sixth prototype now in flight test. Meanwhile, the country’s other stealth warplane is being marketed for export, as the FC-31.
The unclassified report fails to confirm that the J-20 has entered production, although this has been reported by various open sources. However, the report says that both the J-20 and the FC-31 are fifth-generation aircraft with high maneuverability, low-observability and internal weapons bays, capable of operating in a network-centric environment. They could enter service as early as 2018, although the report is undecided on whether the FC-31 is for export only. Both of them have radars with advanced tracking and targeting capabilities, and protection against electronic countermeasures.
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| Y-20 Cargo Plane |
The PLAAF “is rapidly closing the gap with western air forces across a broad spectrum of capabilities,” the report assesses. These include command-and-control, electronic warfare and datalinks. The J-10B, the latest version of the indigenous fighter that was unveiled in 2007, is expected to enter service shortly. Four J-11Bs (the Chinese-produced Su-27) have been deployed to one of the islands in the South China Sea that China has been expanding by land reclamation. An indigenous version of the Russian Kh-31P anti-radiation missile is being fielded on Chinese fighter-bombers
Read the full story at AINonline