Chengdu J-20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu_J-20

The Chengdu J-20 (Chinese: ?-20; pinyin: Jian-Èrshí), also known as Mighty
Dragon (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Weilóng), is a single-seat, twinjet, all-weather,
stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace
Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is
designed as an air superiority fighter with precision strike capability; it
descends from the J-XX program of the 1990s.

The J-20 made its maiden flight on 11 January 2011, and was officially revealed
at the 2016 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. The aircraft
was in military service by March 2017, with the aircraft officially entering
combat training phase in September 2017. Combat units began inducting the
aircraft in February 2018.

The J-20 is the world's third operational fifth-generation stealth fighter
aircraft after F-22 and F-35.

The J-XX (Chengdu J-20) development program was started in the late 1990s. A
proposal from Chengdu Aerospace Corporation, designated Project 718, won the
PLAAF endorsement following a 2008 competition against a Shenyang proposal that
was larger than the J-20.

In 2009, a senior PLAAF official revealed that the first flight was expected in
2010–11, with a service entry date by 2019. On 22 December 2010, the first J-20
prototype underwent high speed taxiing tests outside the Chengdu Aircraft Design
Institute. Three months later, the first J-20 prototype made its maiden flight
in Chengdu.

Several changes were made to J-20 prototypes, including new low-observable
intake and stealth coating, as well as redesigned vertical stabilizers in 2014.
Analysts noted new equipment and devices for multi-role operations such as
integrated targeting pods for precision-guide munition, and six additional
passive infrared sensors can also be spotted around the aircraft. In December
2015, the Low rate initial production (LRIP) version of J-20 had been spotted by
a military observer.

Chinese state media reported in October 2017 that the designs of J-20 had been
finalized, and is ready for mass production as well as combat-ready.

In January 2019, Chinese media reported that a twin-seat variant of the J-20 may
be under development for use in tactical bombing, electronic warfare and carrier
strike roles.

Alleged hacking into F-35 program

In April 2009, a Wall Street Journal report indicated that, according to the
Pentagon, information from the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II had been
compromised by unknown attackers that appeared to originate from China. There is
some speculation that the compromise of the F-35 program may have helped in the
development of the J-20.


Role
Stealth air superiority fighter

National origin
China

Manufacturer
Chengdu Aerospace Corporation

First flight
11 January 2011

Introduction
10 March 2017

Status
In service

Primary user
People's Liberation Army Air Force

Produced
2009–present

Number built
8 prototypes and
20+ initial production fighters (currently the first batch of 28 J-20's in
active service)

Program cost
US$4.4 billion

Unit cost


• US$100-$120 million (LRIP estimate as of 2011)
• US$30-$50 million (Flyaway cost estimate as of 2016)

Developed from
J-XX


At least six J-20s are in active service, with tail numbers 78271-78276
identified. Another six were believed ready to be delivered by end of Dec 2016.
On 9 March 2017, Chinese officials confirmed that the J-20 had entered service
in the Chinese air force. It is anticipated that before 2020 China be equipped
with the Chengdu J-20 low observable combat aircraft. The International
Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has proposed that the USA could lose its
lead on operational stealth aircraft.

The J-20 officially entered service in September 2017 making China the second
country in the world - after the United States - and the first in Asia to field
an operational fifth-generation stealth aircraft.

The PLAAF began inducting J-20s into combat units in February 2018

Military

Robert Gates downplayed the significance of the aircraft by questioning how
stealthy the J-20 may be, but stated the J-20 would "put some of our
capabilities at risk, and we have to pay attention to them, we have to respond
appropriately with our own programs." The U.S. Director of National Intelligence
James R. Clapper testified that the United States knew about the program for a
long time and that the test flight was not a surprise.

In 2011, Loren B. Thompson, echoed by a 2015 RAND Corporation report, felt that
J-20's combination of forward stealth and long range puts America's surface
assets at risk, and that a long-range maritime strike capability may cause the
United States more concern than a short range air-superiority fighter like the
F-22. In its 2011 Annual Report to Congress, the Pentagon described the J-20 as
"a platform capable of long range, penetrating strikes into complex air defense
environments." A 2012 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission suggests that the United States may have underestimated the speed of
development of the J-20 and several other Chinese military development projects.

Observers were not able to reach a consensus on J-20's primary role. Based on
initial photographs with focus on the aircraft's size, early speculations
referred to the J-20 as an F-111 equivalent with little to no air-to-air
ability. Others saw the J-20 as a potential air superiority fighter once
appropriate engines become available. More recent speculations refer to the J-20
as an air-to-air fighter with an emphasis on forward stealth, high-speed
aerodynamics, range, and adequate agility. The J-20 with its long range missile
armament could threaten vulnerable tankers and ISR/C2 platforms such as the
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS, depriving Washington of
radar coverage and strike range. However one of these targets, the Northrop
Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, is reported to be optimized for spotting fighter
sized stealth aircraft such as the J-20.

After the deployment announcement, several analysts noted that future
experiences the PLAAF is going to have with the J-20 will let China leverage a
significant edge over India, Japan and South Korea, which struggle to design and
produce their own fifth-generation fighters program by schedule. United States
Marine Corps created a full-scale replica (FSR) of a Chengdu J-20 on December,
2018. The replica was spotted parked outside the Air Dominance Center at
Savannah Hilton Head Airport in Georgia. The United States Marine Corps later
confirmed that the aircraft was built for training.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: one (pilot)
Length: 20.4 m (66.8 ft)
Wingspan: 13.5 m (44.2 ft)
Wing area: 78 m2 (840 sq ft)
Empty weight: 19,391 kg (42,750 lb)
Gross weight: 32,092 kg (70,750 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 37,013 kg (81,600 lb)
Fuel capacity: 25,000 lb
Powerplant: 2 × WS-10B or AL-31FM2 afterburning turbofan, 140 or 145 kN (31,000
or 33,000 lbf) with afterburner
Powerplant: 2 × Shenyang WS-15 afterburning turbofan, 180 kN (40,000 lbf) with
afterburner

Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2+
Range: 6,000 km (3,728 mi; 3,240 nmi)
Combat range: 2,000 km (1,243 mi; 1,080 nmi)
Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)
g limits: +9/-3
Wing loading: 340 kg/m2 (69 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.92 (1.12 with loaded weight and 50% fuel) with AL-31FM2
(estimated)

Armament

Internal weapon bays PL-10 short range AAM
PL-12 Medium Range AAM
PL-15 BVR long range AAM
PL-21 Long Range AAM
LS-6 Precision-guided bomb

External hardpoints 4× under-wing pylon capable of carrying drop tanks.


Avionics

Type 1475 (KLJ-5) active electronically scanned array
EOTS-86 electro-optical targeting system (EOTS)
EORD-31 infrared search and track
Distributed aperture system




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