The third—or maybe fourth—copy of China’s first stealth fighter design has appeared in photos published on the Chinese Internet. The Chengdu J-20 Dragon with the nose number “2011” appears to boast several important improvements and marks Beijing’s continued march towards an operational radar-evading warplane.
In other words, this new J-20 is a big deal—and comes hard on the heels of several other major aerospace advancements in China, including the first public flights of the new J-16 fighter-bomber and a potentially weapons-armed jet drone.
The J-20 first appeared in photos leaked online—most likely by bloggers on the Chinese Communist Party payroll—in late December 2010. The large, twin-engine fighter prototype with the nose number “2001,” painted a sinister black, first flew in January 2011, commencing a slow but steady test program.
International reaction to China’s first stealth warplane, albeit in prototype form, ranged from panicked to dismissive. “Asian Pacific’s political landscape will be changed,” claimed Arthur Ding, a Taiwanese analyst. But Chinese Air Force Gen. Chen Bingde admitted that there was a “gaping gap” between the J-20 and U.S.-made stealth warplanes including the F-22 and F-35.
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