Last week, pictures emerged allegedly depicting China’s new J-20 stealth aircraft undergoing taxiing tests at a test airfield near Chengdu. This week, a fresh photo of dubious authenticity shows China’s new stealth plane taking flight (maybe). So has China successfully taken its stealth technology to the skies, and if so what does that mean for the U.S. and the balance of defense tech in the Pacific.
The answers are: “perhaps,” and “not a whole lot.” We first saw the photo above on Wired’s Danger Room blog who accessed them via FlightGlobal, and neither of these knowledgeable sources or their knowledgeable sources seems able to substantiate what the photos seem to claim: that China’s J-20 is airborne. But even if the photo isn’t real, China has openly acknowledged that the maiden flight of the J-20 is coming any day now. A test flight was scrubbed due to bad weather just last week.
As for the J-20’s impact, we’re looking at an operational delivery date at the end of the decade for China’s probable “fifth-gen” fighter/bomber (more on its function in a moment), so a test flight should have no outward impact on relations or the way the United States or other nations deals with the People’s Republic. Surely Chinese officials have an idea what they want the J-20 to mature into, but right now it’s unclear if the place pictured above is a true prototype or a proof of technology vehicle.Further, it’s currently unclear what role the J-20’s would play in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It’s 70-foot body (that’s big for a fighter jet) has led some to speculate that the J-20 will be a bomber more so than a fighter, with the ability to carry a lot of fuel for long range missions and larger weapons bays for heavy-duty munitions. Others speculate that the J-20 could be a new breed of larger fighter designed not for dogfighting with enemy fighters but for targeting the support planes (like AWACS) that coordinate aerial warfare.
Whatever the J-20 is going to be, right now it’s nothing but a test-bed for China’s stealth technology, and until China tells us more about it there’s not a lot of point in worrying about it. Besides, the Pentagon has its own jets to worry about. The debate over how many F-22 Raptors (the closest U.S. analog to the J-20) the DoD ultimately buys never seems to end and the F-35, America’s next-gen fighter jet, is living up to military tradition by blowing through budget ceilings, failing parts tests, and falling woefully behind schedule.

[FlightGlobal via Danger Room]
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Is anyone really that surprised or, are we just so nieve to think that we were the only ones that could develop stealth technology. I'm actually surprised it took as long as it did for someone else to do it. After all, the nazis were doing it during WWII.
@Geawiel Well, yes- the Germans did it. But their Hortens turned out to be a failure- not because of their stealth capabilities, but because of their engines. Their chief test pilot was killed in a low-altitude engine flameout. It took 30 years for engineers to combine cutting-edge avionics, safe jet engines, stealth technology, and the best pilots into an aircraft that was near-perfect, undetectable, and able to carry substantial payload. The Chinese were behind even then, and they just came out with a new stealth fighter. Do not believe that we did not know what the Chinese were up to. We just thought they could not do it for a while. For all we know, the J-20 is wood and canvas.
@geawiel. no one is surprised. stealth just implies hiding from view, from radar. this isn't the first stealth aircraft. no one likes evidence that the USA is not #1 or is not going to be #1 for ever. The USA has known this airplane was being built. so no it isn't a surprise. It is just that no wishes it was real. It does make the steep price tag on the f22 and f35 seem a little less painful.
All I'm saying is if the photos are of flight... How long has it been in the air and also have they been doing recon??? That is the main benefit of stealth....
We are so sickeningly in debt and it chills me to think that we may one day have an arms race with China where we may be driven to bankruptcy the way our arms race did with the USSR.
I think propaganda is the name of the game,
China which sensors its internet,lets them leak a news about a top secret stealth jet! i dont think so...
i am not saying that its not real,i am saying it is, but it would be in its early stages and china would want to show of to its rivals....
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why, mr. Anderson, why, why do you persist?
Because I Choose To...
Regards
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If this is in flight why are there no sign's of hot gas efflux from the jets?
It's flying alright. For more pictures see:
http://china-defense.blogspot.com/
America had been overestimating the capability of Russian Migs for a long time. However, the Pentagon has been underestimating China's rapid military buildup. China has a Carrier killer missile developed with our technology given to them by Loreal in the U.S. My concern is that China is intent on coercing the U.S. into another cold war and arms race paid for by the American consumer from both ends. Cutting the F22 Raptor program was a mistake since it will have to be restarted at 3 times it's previous cost. This is what happened when Jimmy Carter cut the B1 Bomber. This is why America needs conservative cost control comrads.
Again I have to laugh that Chinas NEW jet requires a HUMAN be on board.
Stealth Tech has already been defeated with new improvments in radar.
But we still need to give a big shout out to the H1B visa tech workers who were brought to the US to work for defense contractors at a lower rate then US workers. The indian and chinese GUEST workers then sold the tech to CHINA!
THANKS ALL WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE and ALL WHO KEEP THIS DOOR OPEN.
EXAMPLE-
Classified B-2 Stealth bomber technology was leaked to China, say U.S. officials. A Hawaii-based spy allegedly obtained critical technology that will allow Beijing to copy and counter one of America’s most advanced weapons systems. Investigation reveals that U.S. Stealth technology may have been leaking since 1999.
In the November 15 grand jury indictment, Indian-born engineer Noshir Gowadia is charged with 18 counts of spying. Besides providing China with classified technology relating to the B-2’s engine exhaust system, he is also charged with several other counts of selling top-secret information.
really guys dont compare this to a f22. first of all f22 is a dogfighter to protect the homeland your not going to see this protoype in a fight against that plane unless ww!!! breaks. and then again who is the proven fighter??? secondly this plane was most likely developed to put balance of power in the Pacific against Taiwan, if Succesful they will have first strike capability against the Patriot Missle Defense system sold to Taiwan last yr and If that happened what you guys should be talking about is what response would the U.S have. that my friends could be a show of force that you couldnt imagine more like the X-37 project housing an EMP weapon taking china back into the stoneage dont be surprised if its already in development, or already flying around in space like its little brother.
The jets look like they would give off a lot of heat.
http://www.silentwarbirds.webs.com
yea thats our f22 rapter for shure spies get A life we built it first
anyone see the first missile set video for this aircraft? Look at the video, and Top Gun side-by-side...
The Chinese thought they could get away with showing the J-10 launching a missile then cutting to a clip that was stolen from TOP GUN!!!???
Simply put, this idea is not going so well anymore.
the image at the very top (rear 3/4 view) is fan art create a long time ago, it has been re-edited by several other people to include versions with mountains in the backgroud, chainlink and also branches out of focus in the foreground.
some versions have blue flame added inside the turkey feathers and visual heat disruptions.
this airplane is huge, the design is 4th gen at best, it's NOT stealthy and WILL NOT go into production. This is a experimental development concept test aicraft ONLY.
POPSCI you need to do some background checking before publishing this horseCRAP
What I find strange is that people hail stealth as some new, game changing, technology. Hav-Blu, the predecessor to the now retired F-117 was flying in the 70's people. You really think the F-22 is the latest and greatest we've got now???
a just read some article which the china has 2 copies of stealth jet read this article that i read awhile ago...
www.airsoc.com/articles/view/id/4fb31712c6f8faf039000012/china-now-has-two-copies-of-stealth-jet?ev=10&evp=tl "China has 2 stealth jet plane")