Our Latest Look at China's New Stealth Fighter
China's latest fighter, the Chengdu J-20, is sporting a new camouflage scheme. The new "fifth generation" fighter is wearing new "splinter" camouflage in photos spotted on the Chinese internet in early October.
The photos show four aircraft: Two wearing a yellow primer paint coating, one in plain gray, and a fourth in the aforementioned splinter camouflage. According to Combat Aircraft, the planes were photographed over the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group factory in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Chinese internet sources state that two J-20s were sent to Guangdong province in eastern China, possibly to participate in the annual Zhuhai Air Show which is scheduled for November 1-6. The two newly painted J-20s could very well be those planes.
The gray, low visibility paint jobs are very reminiscent of those on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Like the USAF roundel or the Japanese Hinomaru on the F-35, the People's Liberation Army Air Force roundel is subdued, appearing plain white as opposed to the typical scarlet and gold roundel on other PLAAF aircraft.
First unveiled in January 2011, the J-20 has undergone a rapid design evolution, with numerous changes made to the outside-and presumably the inside-of the aircraft. The fighter is reportedly in low-rate initial production, or just short of full assembly line production.
Despite all of the hype, nobody outside of China knows what kind of aircraft the J-20 will eventually be. The aircraft's large airframe and twin engines suggest a high speed, long endurance capability, while the stealthy profile and internal munitions bays suggest a need to penetrate enemy airspace.
Another option is for the J-20 to be a long-range, air-superiority fighter that specializes in air-to-air combat beyond visual range. Yet another is as a long-range strike jet, capable of using stealth to penetrate enemy air defenses and then launching missiles and precision-guided bombs at targets on the ground.
The big question is whether the J-20 a match for the American F-22 and F-35 fighters. The answer is almost certainly no. The J-20 was in development for much less time than either American fighter, and costs considerably less. China has much less experience developing fighter planes-particularly fifth generation fighter planes-and has an inferior technology base. There's no math in which the end product is the equal of a fifth generation American fighter.
Still, that may not matter. If China can produce half of the plane for half of the cost in half of the time, that beats trying to match the F-22 or F-35-a process that could take decades. China could simply produce more planes-as they say, quantity has a quality all of its own.
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