F-35 vs J-20: Inside the US-China stealth fighter showdown

China’s Plan to Beat the US Air Force’s F-22 and F-35: Build As Many J-20 Mighty Dragon Stealth Fighters As the Factory Can Pump Out

For most of its history China's aviation industry could design an airframe it could not power. The J-20 flew on Russian AL-31 engines, which meant Moscow held a say in how fast Chengdu could build them. That constraint is gone. Domestic WS-10C engines, and the more powerful WS-15 on newer aircraft, let the line standardize assembly and order in larger batches without foreign approval. Commercial satellite analysis published this year identified …

Exclusive: Satellites Show At Least 11 Chinese Stealth Jets Facing India. New Delhi's Answer Is Years Away

What makes the deployment of the J-20 significant are its stealth characteristics which enable it to dominate contested airspace

F-35 vs J-20: Inside the US-China stealth fighter showdown

The F-35 and J-20 are often grouped together simply because both are fifth-generation stealth fighters. But that comparison only tells part of the story. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II was built as a multirole combat aircraft designed to penetrate defended airspace, strike targets, collect intelligence, and share battlefield data with other forces. China’s Chengdu J-20, meanwhile, is a much larger, twin-engine fighter built primarily for …

China Deploys J-20s Near India

Commercial satellite imagery published by NDTV shows China has deployed at least 11 J-20 stealth fighters to airfields along the border with India, as Beijing rapidly expands its fifth-generation fleet and shifts the aerial balance over the Himalayas. Seven J-20s were spotted at Hotan airfield, located just 245 kilometers from the Indian airbase at Daulat Beg Oldi and 389 kilometers from Leh, while four additional aircraft were observed at the h…

Satellite images show China deploying 11 J-20 stealth fighters near India border

The J-20 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed to reduce its radar signature, giving it an advantage in contested airspace over fourth-generation aircraft such as India's Rafale.