China Upgrading Fifth-Gen Fighter Capabilities.

• Author: Harper, Jon

Experts say U.S. fifth-generation fighter aircraft--the stealthy F-22 and F-35--remain the best in the world. However, China is upgrading its J-20 "Mighty Dragon" to try to close the gap.

The J-20A, developed by Chengdu Aerospace Corp., is the People's Liberation Army Air Force's heavy twinengine, single seat, low observability, multi-role jet that made its first flight in 2011.

"The PLA's planned fielding of a fifth-generation fighter force will bolster its air-to-air capability," the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in its most recent annual report to Congress, "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China: 2020."

The aircraft has high maneuverability, stealth characteristics, an internal weapons bay, advanced avionics and sensors providing enhanced situational awareness, advanced radar tracking and targeting capabilities, and integrated electronic warfare systems, the study said.

Justin Bronk, a research fellow for airpower and technology at the United Kingdom-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said the J-20 is the "centerpiece" of the PLAAF's modernization push.

Its combination of passive sensors, active electronically scanned array radar, low-observability features, range on internal fuel, and long-range missiles make the J-20 "a qualitatively greater threat than any previous non-Western combat aircraft," he said in a RUSI report published last year, "Russian and Chinese Combat Air Trends: Current Capabilities and Future Threat Outlook."

The aircraft leverages technology designs stolen from the United States through industrial espionage, analysts have noted.

"The design incorporates many features which have been copied from the F-22 and F-35, including nose cone shaping, the electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) under the nose, and the side-mounted [diverterless supersonic inlet] intakes," the RUSI report said.

However, "the J-20 is no mere imitation and has several design features suggesting a carefully weighted consideration of specific Chinese capability requirements," the study noted.

The system's internal fuel capacity and ability to carry up to four external fuel tanks will allow it to operate as a long-range interceptor and hunt down U.S. tanker and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft far from the Chinese mainland, it said.

However, the J-20A has some shortcomings, analysts say.

The platform is the largest lowobservability fighter currently in production, the RUSI report noted. "The downside is a heavier, less...