The race for air supremacy : China readies its’ 5th gen. warplanes for mass production

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More prototypes of China’s J-20 to emerge before 2015

The J-20 stealth fighter with the serial number 2012 visible under the cockpit. (Photo/CNS)

China has reportedly been building several prototypes of its fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, in preparation for mass production of the aircraft, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

Chinese media published images of a J-20 stealth fighter with the serial number 2012 on Wednesday. Although its exterior did not differ significantly from the previous prototype with the serial number 2011, revealed previously, the website of China’s nationalistic tabloid Global Times said this suggests the stealth fighter’s design has matured and that the military may enter the next phase of development by producing a batch of prototypes.

The media reports came after Japan’s TBS television network broadcast video footage of the Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin, an advanced stealth fighter prototype developed by Japan. The prototype was reportedly being used to test the latest stealth technology and was not part of the development process of a new stealth fighter. Japan has decided to introduce the US Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II but has not abandoned its plan of building a fifth-generation fighter.

The Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin was built in preparation for the production of an indigenous stealth fighter, which means Japan can use the technology to produce aircraft with stealth abilities equivalent to fourth- or fifth-generation stealth fighters rapidly in the event of any potential conflict.

Since the United States produced 11 prototypes of its J-22 Raptor stealth tactical fighter for test flights, China is likely to follow the same course.

The US Air Force has revealed that it has carried out 4,583 hours of test flights on 2,546 trips during the J-22’s production. Based on the US experience, China is likely to produce around ten J-20 prototypes to carry out the same amount of test flights. At its current production speed, the country is likely to complete production on all J-20 prototypes by the end of 2015.

Source: www.wantchinatimes.com 

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