China recently demonstrated its second fifth-generation stealth fighter,
the J-31, for the 10th Zhuhai Airshow held in Guangdong from Nov.
11-16. Dave Majumdar, an American defense expert, thus suggests in
Washington's National Interest that the US must put the F-35 into
service or develop new fighters to face this challenge.
China has come to realize that fourth-generation fighters such as the J-10, J-11, Su-27 and Su-30 will be obsolete when facing American fifth-generation stealth fighters like the F-22 and F-35, an official from the Pentagon told Majumdar. "The price of admission for a fifth-gen war is a fifth-gen airplane and they get that," the official was quoted as saying. Many US aviators believe that the J-31 was built based on stolen F-22 and F-35 technologies and will eventually be as powerful as the two American fighters.
China has come to realize that fourth-generation fighters such as the J-10, J-11, Su-27 and Su-30 will be obsolete when facing American fifth-generation stealth fighters like the F-22 and F-35, an official from the Pentagon told Majumdar. "The price of admission for a fifth-gen war is a fifth-gen airplane and they get that," the official was quoted as saying. Many US aviators believe that the J-31 was built based on stolen F-22 and F-35 technologies and will eventually be as powerful as the two American fighters.
"I think they'll eventually be on par with our fifth-gen jets because industrial espionage is alive and well," an F-35 test pilot told the US Naval Institute. A senior official from the US Air Force said that an F-22 has a 30-to-one kill ratio versus a Su-30 or J-11 outside of a surface-to-air missile environment.
When the J-20
and J-31 enter service with the PLA, even a three-to-one kill ratio
advantage becomes costly.
Facing this new challenge, the official suggested those who question the need for the F-35 to rethink their logic. "They may be complex, expensive and still immature, but they are a quantum leap over every other fighter in our arsenal," said he.
Facing this new challenge, the official suggested those who question the need for the F-35 to rethink their logic. "They may be complex, expensive and still immature, but they are a quantum leap over every other fighter in our arsenal," said he.
Believing that China will eventually make the J-20 and J-31 into perfect
stealth fighters, the official suggested the United States to learn
from China's commitment to upgrading its military technology.
