By all accounts, 2016 was a busy year for China’s defense industry as the country continued to carry out its major program aimed at modernizing the People’s Liberation Army. In an interview with Sputnik, Russian military expert Vasily Kashin provided a detailed overview of Beijing’s military efforts, including its most complex ongoing project.
“In 2016, first fifth-generation J-20 fighter jets were transferred to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force,” he said. “This is currently the riskiest and the most technically complex project for the Chinese industry as is evidenced by America’s experience in testing and phasing in fifth-generation fighter jets.”
The Chengdu J-20 is a stealth, twinjet, fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It has been in service since 2016.
The analyst added that it is hard to say when some of the J-20 aircraft will become combat ready, but added that the J-20 program appears to be proceeding as planned.
“Combat units of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force are likely to adopt the J-20 faster than the fighting units of the Russian Airspace Forces. At the same time one must understand that 4++ generation fighter aircraft will form the backbone of China’s and Russia’s offensive airpower for many years to come,” he said.
Chinese engineers were also working on modifying the Dongfeng-31 (DF-31) and upgrading the Dongfeng-5 (DF-5). In 2016, first pictures of the Project 09-IVА nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine surfaced.
In 2016, the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) received new air defense systems, reconnaissance and control assets, as well as new types of all-terrain vehicles, armored vehicles and artillery equipment.
However, the PLAGF still has a significant amount of obsolete weapons, the analyst noted. “Upgrading the technical base of the Armed Forces, particularly, PLAN and PLAAF, will become a major part of the efforts aimed at reforming the Chinese military in 2017,” Kashin said.
Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201701021049195323-china-j20-fighter-jet/