The claims of a successful second test flight for the advanced
fighter follow China's warning in late March that it faced an
increasingly volatile Asian region where the United States has expanded
its strategic footprint.
Some analysts have said that the first few photos of the J-20
suggest that China may be making faster-than-expected progress in
developing a rival to Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, the world's only
operational stealth fighter designed to evade detection by radar.
The latest pictures may heighten concern about China's military
build-up, including possible deployment in 2011 of its first aircraft
carrier and a new anti-ship ballistic missile that is seen as a threat
to U.S. aircraft carriers.
Chinese military and political sources say Beijing could launch
its first aircraft carrier in 2011, a year earlier than U.S. military
analysts had expected.
China confirmed the first test flight of its highly
controversial stealth fighter, ending speculation that the secretive
aircraft had taken to the air.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
about the flight of the prototype J-20 shortly before Gates left Beijing
after a three-day visit to China intended to improve military
communications between the two countries.
Gates, who is also visiting Japan and South Korea while in the region,
said the discussion with Hu about the J-20 flight that took place this
week was short.
"I asked President Hu about it directly and he said that the test had
absolutely nothing to do with my visit and had been a pre-planned test.
And that's where we left it."
The 15-minute flight took place in Chengdu, in southwest China.
Hu, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the flight
hadn't been timed to coincide with Gates's visit.
The 11-member commission issues directives to the army including senior
appointments, troop deployment and arms spending. The majority of
members are senior generals but several senior Communist party members
are on the commission, a move said to ensure that the military remains
loyal in its actions toward the government.
Defense and aviation analysts have been questioning images and video
clips of the stealth fighter seen on Chinese Web sites since last month,
showing what looks like a J-20 standing on a runway apron and then
taking off.
Many of the shots of the Chengdu J-20 appear taken by people standing a
long way from the runway, possibly outside the airport perimeter.
The aircraft was officially announced in late 2002 as being under
development through a joint design and development project by the
Chengdu Aircraft and Shenyang Aircraft companies.
But Chinese political leaders and aviation sector professionals have
been guarded about details, specifications and development progress of
the aircraft that is similar in concept to Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor
stealth fighter.
However, experts have gleaned much information over the years.
The latest shots show an elongated airframe with forward canards, a main
delta wing, outward canted fins, two small ventral fins, two under-wing
diverterless supersonic intakes and conventional jet nozzles.
It is believed to be larger than the F-22 -- the only truly stealth
plane operational -- or Russia's prototype stealth fighter, the Sukhoi
T-50, which had its first test flight in January 2010 and is expected in
service sometime after 2015.
It isn't clear what engine the J-20 is using. There was some speculation
that the Russians may have supplied the 32,000-pound thrust 117-S
engine because the Chinese-made WS-10A isn't ready.
The 117-S is an upgrade of the Saturn AL-31 turbofan engine developed by
Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, of Russia. It was originally made for the
Sukhoi Su-27 fighter.
It also remains open whether the plane uses plasma stealth technology
whereby it emits an ionized gas that surrounds the aircraft, making it
harder to detect by radar systems.
In August 2008 it was reported that 611 Institute was
selected to be the main contractor for the development of the
fifth-generation stealthy J-20, and that 601 Institute was the
sub-contractor.
Now 611 Institute has started to issue manufacturing drawings for
constructing the first prototype, which is expected to fly by 2011.
The only Russian input is AL-31F Engine for prototype which is replaced by WS-15 Chinese Engine in serial production.
The latest news suggested first Chengdu J-20 Fifth Generation Fighter had been built at CAC.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of
fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine stealth multirole fighters.
After entering service it would be considered as the most advanced
fighter aircraft in the world, performing ground attack, reconnaissance,
and air defense missions.
The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF),
integrates advanced very low observable stealth into a supersonic,
highly agile 5th generation fighter. The capabilities built into the
F-35 Lightning II provide the pilot with unprecedented situational
awareness and unmatched lethality and survivability.
Some of its salient features are :
- Dominates all adversaries in the air or on the surface.
- Has the ability to survive and prosecute the most formidable threats expected to emerge beyond 2020.
- Conducts air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions simultaneously.
- Incorporates the most powerful and comprehensive sensor and mission avionics package ever to fly in a fighter.
Sukhoi’s T-50 PAK FA:
The Sukhoi PAK FA is a fifth-generation jet fighter being developed by
Sukhoi for the Russian Air Force.The current prototype is Sukhoi’s T-50.
The PAK FA, when fully developed, is intended to replace the MiG-29
Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker in the Russian inventory and serve as the
basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with India. As a
fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The T-50 performed
its first flight January 29, 2010.Its second flight was on February 6
and its third on February 12. As of August 31, 2010, it made 17 flights
in total.Sukhoi director Mikhail Pogosyan has projected a market for
1,000 aircraft over the next four decades, which will be produced in a
joint venture with India, two hundred each for Russia and India and six
hundred for other countries.He has also said that the Indian
contribution would be in the form of joint work under the current
agreement rather than as a joint venture. The Indian Air Force will
“acquire 50 single-seater fighters of the Russian version” before the
two seat FGFA is developed. The Russian Defense Ministry will purchase
the first ten aircraft after 2012 and then 60 after 2016.
Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA):
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), formerly known as the Medium
Combat Aircraft (MCA), is a twin-engined 5th generation stealth
multirole fighter being developed by India. It will complement the HAL
Tejas, the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI and the yet undecided
MRCA in the Indian Air Force. The main purpose of this aircraft is to
replace the aging SEPECAT Jaguar & Dassault Mirage 2000. The Medium
Combat Aircraft [MCA] is envisioned as a replacement for the British
Jaguar and Mirage 2000 the IAF flies, which as of 2002 were to be phased
out by 2015. Development costs were expected to be over US $2 billion.
At that time, India’s DRDO intended to develop a stealth Medium Combat
Aircraft, a further extension of its LCA design, in order to replace the
Jaguar and Mirage inventory beginning around 2010.The MCA designers
plan to pursue technologies superior to anything currently on offer.
India’s aeronautical designers see the MCA programme as crucial for
taking forward the expertise that has been painstakingly accumulated in
the Tejas LCA programme.
The claims of a successful second test flight for the advanced
fighter follow China's warning in late March that it faced an
increasingly volatile Asian region where the United States has expanded
its strategic footprint.
