The Pentagon and the Chinese government are quiet about the two new fighters spotted on Chinese social media sites last week. Defense analysts say they appear to be Beijing’s first advanced sixth-generation stealth fighters.
An Air Force official said the service monitors Beijing’s advanced warplane development and that the prototypes align with Chinese strategic objectives and long-range force planning.
“Their new weapons systems introduce additional complexity in the [People’s Liberation Army], which requires highly skilled personnel to actually employ them to the max extent of their capability,” the official said.
Images and video of a tailless delta-wing aircraft surfaced unexpectedly Thursday on Chinese social media. Hours later, videos showed a similar-shaped aircraft in the air.
On Monday, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters that she had seen the news reports but declined to comment on the flight tests. A second spokesman said the Defense Department had no comment on Beijing’s development of warplanes beyond the recently published annual report on the Chinese military.
A Chinese Embassy spokesman also declined to comment.
Chinese state media did not carry stories directly commenting on the two jets. The Defense and Foreign ministries have remained silent on the jets’ widely circulated online appearances.
The sole Chinese media comment came from a regional state-controlled outlet, the Chengdu-based Defense Times. The outlet said on the social media platform Weibo that the first new fighter “really looks like a leaf,” the South China Morning Post reported. The comment was circulated widely and is viewed as a tacit official confirmation of the latest advance by the Chinese military.
Blurred images
The blurred images and video of the jets show prototypes of Chinese-built stealth fighters without the rear stabilizers that traditional aircraft use to maintain control during flight.
The Air Force B-2 bomber and future B-21 bomber use similar tailless designs that require flight control by computer.
The first jet appeared on Thursday in daylight videos near Chengdu, Sichuan. The videos showed a large fighter with three engines and exhaust ports designed to reduce heat and radar signatures.
A two-seat J-20 fighter shadowed the aircraft, and the location suggests it was developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.
The smaller triangular-winged fighter appeared hours later. Defense analysts said it was a jet flown near Shenyang, where a second major aircraft manufacturer, the Shenyang Aircraft Corp., is based. That jet was shadowed by a J-11 jet built by Shenyang, a variant of the Russian Su-27.
Disclosure of both aircraft coincided with the birthday of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, a favorite founding figure of the ruling Chinese Communist Party despite policies that resulted in large-scale deaths during the 1960s and 1970s.
The online aircraft newsletter The Aviationist reported that a J-20 prototype appeared on Dec. 26 about a decade ago.
China has used similar unofficial disclosures online to showcase aircraft that have yet to be officially designated.
The first jet bore the number 3601, prompting speculation it was a J-36 prototype.
Retired Navy Capt. Carl O. Schuster, a former Pacific Command intelligence official, said the prototype flights highlight Beijing’s commitment to building military forces equal, if not superior, to Western militaries and China’s primary strategic adversary, the United States.
He said the flights show that the Chinese aviation industry and military are technologically competitive with the United States and are still advancing.
“In my opinion, the prototype flights and related programs dispel any notion that Beijing is technologically inferior,” Capt. Schuster said.
“Quite the contrary, it has approached technological parity with us, if not achieved, particularly if you include other military systems such as drones, warships and hypersonic weapons.”
Development woes
The Air Force’s proposed sixth-generation fighter, the Next Generation Air Dominance, faces production hurdles.
Air Force officials paused development in November over cost concerns after spending $5.1 billion on the program from 2022 through 2024.
A Congressional Research Service report said Air Force officials are delaying the fighter because of doubts about affordability while building the new B-21 bomber and a new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Next Generation Air Dominance fighter could face opposition from President-elect Donald Trump. In November, one of Mr. Trump’s government efficiency advisers, Elon Musk, stated on X that “manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones.”
Rick Fisher, an expert on the Chinese military, said the likely first sixth-generation fighter was dubbed a “flying Dorito” because of its shape.
The 60- to 70-ton stealth air dominance fighter has “the potential to threaten U.S. Navy aircraft carrier groups with long-range precision air-launched ballistic missiles,” said Mr. Fisher, a fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
Mr. Fisher said the J-36 prototype would likely have a “supercruise” capability to lower fuel consumption while flying at 60,000 feet, allowing it to attack new B-21 stealth bombers with precision-guided PL-17 long-range ballistic air-to-air missiles.
Chinese sources say the J-36 will be able to strike U.S. Navy and Air Force fighters defending Taiwan from a PLA invasion at greater distances from Chinese shores than current aircraft, he said.
Mr. Fisher said the smaller jet appears designed for use on China’s aircraft carriers.
Imbalance
While China tests new fighter jets for possible production in two or three years, the Biden administration has halted work on the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, leading to a delay of several years, he said.
“This only compounds a dire airpower imbalance versus China, which now fields an estimated 300 to 400 of the Chengdu J-20 heavy fifth-generation fighters, while the U.S. Air Force can, in theory, put 120 of its F-22A fighters into the air to meet global deterrence missions,” Mr. Fisher said.
The 2010 decision by President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to halt F-22 production at 186 fighters could tempt Chinese leaders to launch a war over Taiwan by 2027, he said.
“China’s goal is to overmatch the United States in terms of nuclear, naval, invasion and now airpower, to force Washington into subordination in which we surrender our global leadership position and sacrifice allies like Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan,” Mr. Fisher said.
The Pentagon’s latest annual report on the Chinese military does not mention the J-36 or the second new warplane.
The report said a J-35 aircraft is under development for Chinese aircraft carriers.
The PLA’s air force now has 1,300 to 1,900 fighters, including more than 225 J-16 fourth-generation fighters and additional J-20s.
On Friday, Chinese social media posts disclosed an airborne warning and control aircraft, the KJ-3000, a variant of the Y-20 transport aircraft that U.S. officials say was built with stolen U.S. C-17 design information.
A photo on Chinese social media showed the KJ-3000 with a large rotodome and bulge at the tail for gear that could be used for electronic warfare, radar and communications.
Chinese state media also announced the launch Friday of a new Type 076 amphibious assault ship, now named Sichuan. The large, flat-deck ship reportedly will handle helicopters. It is reportedly equipped with an electromagnetic catapult and arresting wire, indicating a capability to launch fixed-wing warplanes.
A defense official said one of the most significant changes in the PLA air force is the rapid expansion of fifth-generation aircraft, particularly the J-20.
“The production lines that are now building that aircraft are kind of in full operation,” said the official, who spoke before the two new jets were disclosed.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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