US Air Force gears up for aggressor drills to simulate combat
Two Chinese J-20 stealth fighter jets perform at an air show in Guangdong province last year. Photo: AP
The United States Air Force will use its F-35A fifth-generation fighters to mimic the role of its Chinese counterpart, the J-20 “Powerful Dragon”, in “aggressor” training exercises amid rising concern in Washington about Beijing’s growing strength in strategically sensitive areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Aggressor exercises are drills that seek to mimic the tactics and techniques of other forces to give its pilots the most realistic possible experience of high-level conflict.
A total of 11 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters will be transferred to the recently reactivated 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where they will play the role of the J-20, according to a report by Military.com, a US forces news site.
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America’s F-35 fighter jet vs China’s J-20: which is better, cheaper, stealthier?
US president-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that the cost of building the US military’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, had spiralled “out of control”.
“The F-35 programme and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account, referring to the day he will be sworn in as president. Trump’s criticism amid a sluggish US economy revealed the expensive deal between the US government and the jet’s designer and manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which has pushed the cost beyond US$400 billion, making the plane the most expensive weapons system in military history.
Compared with the US’s F-35, China’s newest J-20 warplane is much cheaper.
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China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet lines up for combat duty, boosting firepower in the sky
China has confirmed that its J-20 stealth fighter has entered combat service. Photo: AP
China’s J-20 stealth fighter has entered combat service, the country’s armed forces confirmed on Friday, expanding the military’s air power options as it presses on with a massive modernisation programme.
People’s Liberation Army Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke said the deployment of the J-20 to combat units would “help the air force better shoulder the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.
Shen said the air force was moving towards a modernised military service that could operate in all fronts, and had become an effective force to control, contain and win a war.
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China deploys J-20 stealth fighter ‘to keep tabs on Taiwan’
China’s J-20 stealth fighter has been officially deployed to the country’s Eastern Theatre Command, suggesting it will be focused on the Taiwan Strait and military activities between Japan and the United States, observers said.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force posted a photo on its social media account this week showing the fifth-generation fighter tagged with the number 62001, designating the aircraft as part of a frontline unit.
Chinese media reported that the stealth fighter had entered the Eastern Theatre Command, which encompasses Taiwan.
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Does China’s J-20 rival other stealth fighters?
The Chengdu J-20 marks the first entry of a multirole stealth fighter into China’s armed forces. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), China views stealth technology as a core component in the transformation of its air force from “a predominantly territorial air force to one capable of conducting both offensive and defensive operations.” Designed for enhanced stealth and maneuverability, the J-20 has the potential to provide China with a variety of previously unavailable air combat options and enhance its capability to project power.
As an advanced multirole stealth fighter, it is speculated that the J-20 can fulfill both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat roles for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the aviation branch of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (referred to as either Naval Aviation or the PLAN-AF). According to PLAAF Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, the J-20 will enhance the overall combat capability of China’s air force. A 2016 report by the DOD states that the J-20 represents a critical step in China’s efforts to develop “advanced aircraft to improve its regional power projection capabilities and to strengthen its ability to strike regional airbases and facilities.” In 2014, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission described the J-20 as “more advanced than any other fighter currently deployed by Asia Pacific countries.”
The J-20 is believed to be equipped with subsystems and field signature reduction technology that collectively meet the internationally-accepted classification of a “fifth-generation” aircraft. This refers to military aircraft featuring the general requirements of stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed, and highly integrated avionics. The J-20 is the first Chinese aircraft to fit this description, and it may serve as a critical asset for both the air force and the navy. As these branches have different areas of responsibility, how the J-20 is ultimately utilized is likely to vary. In broad terms, the PLAAF is China’s mainstay for air operations and is responsible for homeland air defense, while Naval Aviation is tasked with fleet air defense and defending the territorial waters and coastline of China.
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Just How Good Is China's New J-20 Stealth Fighter?
The fifth-generation fighter should be fully operational by 2019 at the latest
China's first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, "has the potential to provide China with a variety of previously unavailable air combat options and enhance its capability to project power." That's the conclusion of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington D.C.-based security think tank. CSIS also concludes that the fighter, first flown in 2011, could enter service as soon as 2018.
The J-20 shocked the world in 2011, when China unveiled the plane during a state visit by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Although China was known to be working on a large fighter, known as the J-XX, the extent to which the country had made progress on a so-called "fifth generation fighter"—which only the United States had successfully developed—shocked experts. CSIS assesses the J-20 as a full fifth-generation fighter, which means it includes stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed, and highly integrated avionics as part of the criteria. It also believes that at 34,000 to 37,000 kilograms, the J-20 is slightly lighter than the American F-22 Raptor.
Like the F-22, the J-20 is powered by two afterburning turbofan engines. The rearward placement of the engines, according to CSIS, likely means it has more useable internal volume than the F-22. Stealthy aircraft, to remain stealthy, must hide weapons and fuel in internal bays within their fuselages. The J-20 has three such bays, two for smaller air-to-air missiles and a single large belly bay for larger air-to-air, anti-ship, and air-to-ground missiles.
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Chengdu J-20
The Chengdu J-20 is a fifth-generation, stealth, twin-engine fighter aircraft prototype being developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 made its first flight on 11 January 2011. General He Weirong, Deputy Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force said in November 2009 that he expected the J-20 to be operational in 2017–2019.
The PLAAF designates the J-20 as "Project 718". The general designer of the aircraft is reportedly Yang Wei, who was the general designer of CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder. In 2002, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation had been selected to head research and development of the new fighter, a claim repeated in New Scientist the same week. However, a 2006 article in Military Technology referred to three designs; two by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and one by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation. According to the report from Jane's, development of the subsystems, including the engine and weapon suite for the next generation fighter, has been under way for some time. A photograph of a wind tunnel model published with the article showed a twin-engine aircraft with twin vertical tail fins. The article text mentioned that the aircraft would carry its weapons internally like the F-22 Raptor. New Scientist called attention to the angular, faceted features of the design, comparing them to the F-117 Nighthawk. Jane's also linked the programme with China's development of an engine with thrust vectoring capability.
The later report in Military Technology featured a picture of a completely different design, speculatively dubbed J-14 and said to be a Shenyang project, with the designations J-12 and J-13 being applied to (possibly competing) designs by Shenyang and Chengdu respectively.
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America's F-22 Raptor vs. China's Stealth J-20: Who Wins?
The eagle vs. the dragon in a 5th generation fighter showdown. Who would dominate the skies over Asia?
Despite its recent economic troubles, the People’s Republic of China is likely to be the only peer level competitor to the United States over the next fifty years. While a conflict is unlikely—a Third World War is in nobody’s interests—the United States must be prepared for such an eventuality.
As with all modern conventional wars, airpower and air superiority will play a key role. For the United States, the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor will be America’s premier weapon to ensure dominance over the skies until it is eventually replaced by whatever comes out of the U.S. Air Force’s F-X program.
The most direct Chinese analogue to the Raptor is the Chengdu J-20. How would such a jet fair against America’s best?
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J-20
The Chengdu J-20 (Jian-20) (Chinese: 歼-二十) is a fifth generation, stealth, twin engine, single-seat fighter aircraft being developed by the Chengdu Industry Group for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It entered active service in March 2017.
The J-20 appears as the PLA stealth fighter. It is the counterpart to the USMC F-35 and the RGF Su-50. The main role of the stealth fighter is air superiority over a map. As such, it is armed with a variety of anti-air missiles, while ground attack weapons are very limited. As with both Stealth and Attack Jets, all aircraft have built in Air Radar specialization by default.
All the stealth jets perform equally in terms of turning and acceleration. Similar to Battlefield 3, flying close to the ground will result in the aircraft putting out the landing gear, which can make maneuvers close to the ground difficult. Afterburners are enabled by pressing the sprint button, which works like the sprint and boost of other vehicles -- making the vehicle faster, but less maneuverable.
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Chinese scientists hail ‘incredible’ stealth breakthrough that may blind military radar systems
China’s J-20 stealth fighter. Photo: AFP
Chinese scientists have achieved a series of breakthroughs in stealth materials technology that they claim can make fighter jets and other weaponry lighter, cheaper to build and less vulnerable to radar detection.
Professor Luo Xiangang and colleagues at the Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, Sichuan province, said they had created the world’s first mathematical model to precisely describe the behaviour of electromagnetic waves when they strike a piece of metal engraved with microscopic patterns, according to a statement posted on the academy’s website on Monday. With their new model and breakthroughs in materials fabrication, they developed a membrane, known as a meta surface, which can absorb radar waves in the widest spectrum yet reported.
At present, stealth aircraft mainly rely on special geometry – their body shape – to deflect radar signals, but those designs can affect aerodynamic performance. They also use radar absorbing paint, which has a high density but only works against a limited frequency spectrum.
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China tests stealth ‘invisibility cloaks’ on regular fighter jets
China is testing an “invisibility cloak” on non-stealth military jets to help them evade radar detection, according to scientists involved in the project.
If successful, the technology could quickly boost the combat strength of the jets, the researchers say. But others say the technology was difficult to mass produce, limited to a small range of radar bandwidths and would need to be combined with other devices to be truly effective.
The technology involves the use of a “metamaterial”, a fabricated layer comprising microscopic structures similar to integrated circuits. The metamaterial can alter the way radio waves bounce off its surface to create a ghost image or minimise echo on a radar, helping hide the aircraft in flight with greater efficiency.
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