- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Formidable Boost: China to Produce Cutting-Edge Aircraft

© Flickr / Times AsiChina's J-20 stealth fighter
China's J-20 stealth fighter - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLA) will soon receive a substantial improvement in its aerial combat and transportation capabilities, according to military observers.

Soldiers of People's Liberation Army (PLA) Lanzhou Military Region jump through a burning obstacle during a training session at a military base in Tianshui, Gansu province, China, January 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
Asia
Wind of Change: China Kicks Off 'Unprecedented' Military Reform
The fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter and the Y-20 heavy-lifting transport plane are about to enter the initial production stage, the observers said.

Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the newest J-20 prototype must be tested to inspect technical changes designers made to it based on test results from earlier prototypes.

“Once the tests are carried out successfully, small-scale production will begin and the PLA Air Force will become the world's second user of a fifth-generation stealth fighter (following the United States Air Force),” China Daily reported Wang as saying.

He expects that the first of the J-20s will be delivered to the military around 2017.

China carried out the maiden flight of the J-20 in January 2011 and has produced 10 prototypes, including the 2101, since then. Before the 2101, all prototypes were layered with dark-colored paint that experts suggested had stealth capability.

According to a military observer GaoZhuo in Shanghai, the Y-20 is needed badly by the PLA because it lacks “a fast and reliable platform” to project its power overseas.

He said China will soon face a big challenge in Asia-Pacific airspace from the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II stealth warplanes to be deployed by the US and Japan, and this is why China is developing its advanced aircraft so quickly.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала