China’s stealth air force has exploded from a small, elite capability into a massive and rapidly growing fleet designed to challenge American air power.
-With hundreds of J-20s in service, the new J-35 entering production, and three different sixth-generation prototypes already flying, Beijing’s ambition is clear.
This formidable force, supported by a growing fleet of new tankers and AWACS aircraft, is specifically tailored to counter the U.S. in the Pacific by hunting key support assets and penetrating defenses.
While the U.S. retains advantages, China’s progress presents a serious and evolving threat.
A decade ago, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) inducted its first Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters into service. It was a major technological achievement. But the PLAAF’s nascent stealth fighter component amounted to an elite, small-scale capability. It was a tiny fraction of an air force that still included hundreds of dated second- and third-generation Cold War-era types such as the J-6 and J-7, both of which are based on Soviet designs from the 1950s.
True, a second stealth jet design also emerged from manufacturer Shenyang at that time, but Beijing did not procure it.
This state of affairs was bound to change. Annual production allegedly reached 70 to 100 J-20s per year in 2023. The PLAAF may end 2025 with at least 300, and perhaps more than 400, J-20s in service, according to various estimates. Those numbers include an unprecedented two-seater stealth fighter, the J-20S.
It’s worth noting the J-20 is significantly larger and heavier than an American F-35 jet and is seemingly designed for greater speed and longer-distance operations; that latter quality is vital for western Pacific operations. However, Shenyang’s lighter, more F-35-like stealth jet, after years of iteration, is now entering service as the J-35A and J-35 in the PLA Air Force and Naval Air Force respectively (the latter is a carrier-based variant). Procurement of at least a few hundred of these airframes is expected.
Perhaps unintentionally, the PLAAF is seemingly replicating the U.S. Air Force’s so-called high-low mix of combat aircraft. The U.S. pairs a larger number of less expensive jets (such as F-16s and stealthy F-35s) with a smaller fleet of more expensive elite fighters (F-15s and stealth F-22s, as well as, eventually, F-47s). That said, China may end up procuring more J-20s than J-35s.
China is also moving aggressively forward with sixth-generation stealth designs. Three new tailless sixth-generation fighter prototypes have been recorded flying in the last nine months: the Shenyang J-50 or J-XD; the bigger, three-engine Chengdu J-36; and a third, still-nameless design this August.
Additionally, Harbin Aircraft Corporation is developing a B-2-like H-20 stealth bomber that could threaten U.S. Pacific bases. Despite rumors the bomber would be unveiled in 2022, lack of recent news regarding the H-20may reflect significant development delays or problems.
China is also a major drone producer, including loyal wingman-style drone fighters, and stealth combat prototypes such as the CH-7 flying wing andsupersonic Dark Sword aircraft. It is not clear that any of these are progressing towards operational service at scale, but it’s prudent to anticipate China will adopt some kind of stealth combat drone, much much the same as the U.S. Air Force.
No comments:
Post a Comment