NEWS 2022 March, 16

USAF F-35 have encountered with PLAAF's J-20 over East China Sea 

A top USAF general said that F-35s have had at least one encounter with Chengdu J-20s, and that the Shaanxi KJ-500 airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft has a key role in long-range air-to-air kill chains. He did not, however, told when the F-35/J-20 encounter took place.

“It’s a bit early to say what they intend to do with the J-20, so really all we’ve seen it do is air superiority,” he said.

flightglobal

USAF B-21 'Raider' begins ground test phase

The first B-21 'Raider' has entered the ground test phase, paving the way for its expected rollout this year and subsequent first flight.

Northrop Grumman has six of the stealthy aircraft in various stages of production

The next step will involve getting the B-21 ready for flight. This includes carrying out engine runs as well as low-speed and then high-speed taxiing.

After that, the actual first flight from Plant 42 to Edwards Air Force Base in California will take place. Formal flight testing will be held at Edwards.

defensenews

China PLA scrambles Su-35s, J-20s to S China Sea as US Navy sails in

Beijing has responded to the US Navy’s ramped-up presence in the South China Sea – an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson has been scheduled to call at Vietnamese ports next month – with squadrons of advanced fighters including Su-35s and J-20s that will soon start patrolling the 3.5-million-square-kilometer sea.
Further incidents involving US and Chinese forces appear inevitable after the China News Service revealed that the US guided-missile destroyer Hopper came within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island) last month, and was intercepted by the Chinese missile destroyer Huangshan. CNS said the US warship steered away from the area after a brief standoff.
Similar encounters in the air are set to become frequent as well, as the People’s Liberation Army has dispatched an unconfirmed number of Su-35 multirole fighters to the sea for joint combat cruise missions.
This is “a pragmatic action for the air force to fulfill its mission in the new era and conduct combat training exercises” above the South China Sea, said a statement by the PLA Air Force on its Weibo social media account.
It is also rumored that several J-20s already in service with the PLAAF will fly south to join Russian-made counterparts to test the 4.5th generation fighter’s operational reliability.
atimes

China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet is in service

China has officially commissioned the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter into service, the country’s defense ministry has announced.
Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of National Defense, also said in a media conference on Thursday that flight tests are being conducted as scheduled. The type is currently in low rate production for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force, or PLAAF, with at least six examples known to be undergoing operational testing since late 2016 with the service’s 176th Air Brigade at Dingxin Airbase in China’s Gansu Province.
The J-20 is classified by the PLAAF as a fourth-generation — broadly equivalent to fifth-generation in the West — medium- and long-range fighter jet with stealthy characteristics, although these are mainly confined to the frontal aspect of the design
defensenews

China J-20 stealth jet enters service

China has put into service its new generation J-20 stealth fighter, a warplane it hopes will narrow the military gap with the United States, as senior naval officers said the country was building a "first class" navy and developing a marine corps.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing a sweeping modernization of the country's armed forces, the largest in the world, including anti-satellite missiles and advanced submarines, seeking to project power far from its shores.
In a report late on Thursday, state television's military channel confirmed that the J-20 had now entered service, though it gave no other details.
The aircraft was shown in public for the first time in November at the Zhuhai airshow and was first glimpsed by Chinese planespotters in 2010.
However questions remain whether the new Chinese fighter can match the radar-evading properties of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air-to-air combat jet, or the latest strike jet in the U.S. arsenal, Lockheed's F-35. The F-22, developed for the U.S. Air Force, is the J-20's closest lookalike.
China showed off another stealth fighter it's developing, the J-31, at the last Zhuhai airshow in 2014, a show of muscle that coincided with a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama for an Asia-Pacific summit.
China hopes the J-31, still in development, will compete with the U.S.-made F-35 stealth aircraft in the international market.

China moves ahead to develop sixth-generation fighter

China is moving ahead to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter after it finishes the fifth-generation J-20 and J-31.
The United States is the first nation to forge plans for the design of a sixth-generation fighter. In an official statement, the US Navy claimed that a sixth-generation fighter — called FAXX — will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler by 2030. A source from the US military said that the Department of Defense has already prepared a budget for the development of FAXX in 2015.
Russia has recently gotten on board with its own next generation fighter program. A research team was established in northeastern China's Shenyang much earlier than Russia for the country's 6th-gen program.
China is the only nation capable of designing two types of fifth-generation fighters in such a short period of time. With experience gained from the development of the J-20 and J-31, China has enough resources to carry out its next-gen program. China's next fighter is likely to be an unmanned aerial vehicle.
While the definition of "sixth-generation" is not clear yet, most believe such an aircraft must be equipped with a laser or railgun.
wantchinatimes

China's carriers may carry modified J-20 stealth fighter

China is likely to complete the construction of its second and third aircraft carriers with the ability to carry J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighters, although a carrier-friendly model may need to be designed first.
China's domestic aircraft carriers will look very similar to the Liaoning, the country's first aircraft carrier bought from Ukraine and refitted. They are most likely to be equipped with a ski-jump ramp. The displacement of each vessel will be somewhere between 65,000 and 70,000 tons.
The PLA Navy is planning to form two composite air hangar decks, with 50 fighters for each carrier. However, the design of the Chengdu J-20 is currently too large to be deployed aboard the Liaoning. Domestic carrier versions will have to be larger to accommodate them, putting them at an estimated 80,000 tons. Furthermore, they may use a steam catapult or electromagnetic aircraft launch system.
The current J-20 prototype lacks the design specs necessary to take off from a carrier. The length of the first domestically built aircraft carrier may be be longer than the Liaoning by an estimated 20 meters but a new version of the J-20 will have to be designed in any case to be more like the more compact J-15. China's new carrier wing may come equipped with 25 J-15Bs and 25 J-20s.
wantchinatimes

Fourth known J-20 prototype makes first flight

The fourth known prototype of the Chengdu J-20 fifth-generation fighter made its first flight on the morning of 26 July, according to Chinese aviation websites.
The prototype flew for nearly two hours after having undertaken taxi tests since early July. The first hints on military web forums of a fourth J-20 prototype with the tail number '2012' emerged in late June, with clear photos emerging by mid-July.
Images show that '2012' features the refinements first seen in the third prototype, '2011'. These include an undernose faceted shape to hold a future electro-optical targeting system, adjusted air intakes to aid engine air flow and clipped tips on the vertical stabilizers.
The new J-20 prototype does not give any outward indication that CAC has installed an indigenous turbofan engine, despite much online speculation. The status of the J-20's intended WS-15 turbofan is not clear, and it is possible that initially deployed J-20s may use a Russian-made turbofan, perhaps an upgraded version of the Saturn AL-31 or the newer AL-117S.
In mid-June prototype 2011 reportedly left the CAC airfield to join its two other stablemates at the China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) at Yanliang Airbase in Xian Province.
In late April an Asian government source told that 20 J-20s, or about one regiment, could be deployed by 2020.
janes

J-20 may begin small-scale production in 2017

The J-20, China's first fifth-generation stealth fighter, may enter production on a small scale in 2017, after the completion of the aircraft's test flights.
The development of Chinese stealth fighters has become more mature. It took a year for the second prototype of the J-20 to complete its test flight after the first one, however, it took the 2012 prototype only four months to complete this procedure after the third aircraft–bearing the serial number 2011–completed a test flight.
If between three and four J-20 prototypes are able to conduct test flights together this year, the J-20 may begin its production on a small scale by 2017.
wantchinatimes

Latest verrsion of J-20 fighter jet completes maiden test flight

China's new version of J-20 fighter jet completed its first test flight successfully Saturday, escorted by a J-10S fighter.
Reports also said that the J-20 No. 2011 has undergone several improvements and upgrades in terms of engine capacity, as well combat and stealth ability.
The new version of J-20 could mean that all the technical problems of the old versions of J-20 have been solved and that combat training tests will follow.
focustaiwan

Modified J-20 Chinese Fighter seen being prepared for maiden test flight

Images emerged on 20 February of a modified prototype Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) J-20 fifth-generation fighter undertaking high-speed taxi runs.
These taxi runs are presumably prior to its maiden flight and suggest it may be a pre-production variant slated for formal testing by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
Photographs of the prototype first appeared on Chinese military web sites in December 2013 and January, although some of these images appeared to have been digitally altered. The prototype carries the bort number '2011' and shows modifications intended to improve engine performance, combat capability and stealth.
Most noticeable are redesigned engine intakes featuring more of a sloped 'caret' design said to improve pressure distributions for the engine. The vertical stabilizers have been clipped in their outer aft corners and the main wheel doors and the internal weapons bay cover feature larger scalloping to aid low observability. The canopy also features a new brace.
A new electronic targeting system is located below the nose and just aft the radar. This and the J-20's distributed infrared sensor system points indicate Chengdu's ambitions to give the J-20 an optical and infrared targeting and warning system similar to that of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The new intake shape and electronic targeting system may also suggest multirole ambitions for the J-20, which has a larger internal weapons bay than the F-35.
janes

Upgraded version of China's J-20 Stealth jet 'set for maiden flight'

China is said to be planning the maiden flight soon of the upgraded version of the J-20 stealth fighter.
A number of photos recently taken by aviation enthusiasts at an unidentified base, and widely circulated on websites that follow the Chinese military, show a prototype of the twin-engine, fifth-generation aircraft with the serial code "2011" painted on both sides of the cockpit. The first test flight of the prototype aircraft is imminent and is expected to take place in Chengdu, where, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, is headquartered.
The newest J-20 is the stealth fighter's third prototype since the aircraft's debut three years ago.
In January 2011, the J-20's first prototype made its maiden flight at an unidentified airfield in Chengdu. The 15- minute flight made China the third nation in the world to "develop and test-fly a full-size stealth combat aircraft prototype", after the United States and Russia.
China launched its stealth fighter programs in the late 1990s. It is also developing a single-engine, radar-evading fifth-generation jet fighter called the J-31. That aircraft has undergone several test flights.
China reportedly conducted test flights of a second J-20 prototype in Chengdu in May 2012.
A series of improvements have been made to the stealth fighter. It reportedly has a new air intake design, shorter engine nozzles and a sensor technology that helps pilots detect and track enemy aircraft or missiles in every direction simultaneously.
chinadaily

High res. photo of J-20 #2011 with AAM

First carrier-based fighter enters production in China

The Shenyang J-15, China's first carrier-based fighter designed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, has entered mass production and has been received by various units of the PLA Navy Air Force.
It's estimated that the production of six or eight J-15 fighters has been completed recently while between six and seven aircraft are still being constructed.
Based on the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-based fighter, the J-15 is said to be only a transitional aircraft, before the PLA Navy receive its own fifth-generation stealth fighter which shares similar capabilities with China's Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31. China has nine J-15 prototypes in total, seven of which are single-seater fighters. Flying the J-15 from the Liaoning will provide Chinese naval aviators with experience in anticipation of operating more advanced fighters aboard the aircraft carrier in future.
wantchinatimes

Photo of J-20 with PL-13 missiles released for PRC national day

More photos of the J-20, China's first fifth generation steath fighter equipped with PL-13 air-to-air missiles, were released on the internet to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Known by Western media as Fire Fang, the J-20 "Weilong" inaugurates China as the third country in the world to operate stealth fighter after the United States and Russia. The new photos clearly indicate that the Chengdu Aviation Industry designed the J-20 as a competitor against the US F-22 and Russian T-50 in future aerial combat.
The Weilong is being modified for carrier-based combat as well. The primary mission of this new version of J-20 will be hunting F-35 the US F-35 and allied fighters in the Asia-Pacific region.
With the ability to reach hypersonic speeds of Mach 5, the PL-13 missile can run down virtually every aircraft in the world, said the Party-run Global Times. The J-20s current deficiencies, such as its weaker engine, will be fixed in the near future.
wantchinatimes

J-31 stealth fighter designed for export, says PLA admiral

The J-31, China's second prototype fifth-generation stealth fighter, designed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, will be produced for the export market instead of for China's air force and navy, according to Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong of the PLA Navy.
While the Washington-based Strategy Page said the J-31 has the potential to become a future carrier-based stealth fighter for the PLA Navy, Zhang said it is unlikely the plane will serve aboard Chinese aircraft carriers. Unlike the J-20 designed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the J-31 was never a development program intended for the Chinese military, Zhang said.
Like the FC-1/JF-17 Xiaolong or Thunder multirole fighter designed jointly by China and Pakistan, the J-31 will be most likely be a model intended for export to China's allies and strategic partners, which may include countries like North Korea and Iran. Chinese fighters are a much cheaper alternative to US fighters for developing countries, even those which are able to buy military hardware from the United States.
wantchinatimes

Vietnam will Purchase Vostok-E Radar to detect chinese stealth fighters

Before the J-20, China's first stealth fighter, enters service with the PLA Air Force, Vietnam will purchase the Vostok-E 2-Dimensional Metric Band Surveillance Radar from Belarus with the ability to detect and attack stealth aircraft.
defense-studies

Clear view of J-20′s main weapons bay, 4 BVRAAMs

alert5

J-20 opens main weapons bay

The J-20 was seen today with its main weapons bay doors opened for the first time.

High resolution photo of J-20′s side missile launch rail

alert5

J-20 carrying missile

alert5