China's Stealth Fighter : The J-20 'Mighty Dragon' and the Growing Challenge to Western Air Dominance

A detailed exploration of China's J-20 stealth fighter, its development, impact, and role in reshaping global power dynamics.The United States and Soviet Union began a race to develop the first and most capable fifth generation stealth fighters in the late 1970s. The Cold Warend, however, was followed by both a near total collapse of Russian efforts and major cuts and delays to American programs. This provided an opening for a rising and fast modernising Chinese defense industry to kick off its own ambitious program to produce a world leading fighter jet with next generation capabilities. Once unveiled, the program came to be seen as a herald of Chinarising status as a leading player in high tech and major world power.Development of the Chengdu J-20 began in the 1990s and has since consistently far exceeded expectations in both its performance and its development timeline. The fighter made its first flight in 2011 and began deliveries to the People's Liberation Army Air Force in 2016 a small fraction of the

time its American and Russian rivals would take. Today it is the worldsecond most numerous stealth fighter, outnumbered only by Americamuch smaller Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the two rivals seeing their first of many likely encounters confirmed in March 2022. As the J-20capabilities have rapidly improved and the rate of production has significantly grown, it has very conspicuously played a growing role in patrolling major hotspots in East Asia from Korea and the East China Sea to the Taiwan Strait and disputed South China Sea.The J-20 programsuccess has been the most potent symbol of Chinaascent from a minor player in combat aviation during the Cold War, to the United Statesonly peer level competitor today. It has also set China on a course of pursuing multiple other fighter development efforts including a close competition with America to field the first and most capable sixth generation fighter in the 2030s. The J-20 thus marks a major landmark not only in Chinese aviation history, but also

more broadly in the evolving balance of power between East and West as the countrytechnological and economic ascents allow it to successfully pursue highly ambitious weapons programs.This book takes the J-20story far back to the formation of the PeopleLiberation Army Air Force and its trial by fire in the Korean War, tracing the rationale for developing a top end air superiority fighter. It also compares its performance with rival fifth generation fighter programs in other countries and looks ahead to what the future may hold in this new arms race. [Publisher's Text]