A Chinese aerospace manufacturer on the weekend released high-resolution images of what could be China’s second stealth fighter.
For months, Shenyang Aircraft Corp (SAC), one of China’s principal aerospace firms, has been rumored to be working on the prototype of a stealth aircraft known as the J-21 “Snowy Owl.” This first came to the attention of defense analysts after a video surfaced in late June showing an aircraft fuselage covered in camouflage tarp being transported on a highway from SAC to a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) test center at Xian-Yanliang Airbase in Shaanxi Province, Defense News reported at the time.
Although experts cautioned that the video and images in June could have been part of a disinformation campaign, the crisp images of the dark-gray prototype serial “001,” posted on China Defense Blog on Saturday, appeared to provide confirmation that rival Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corp, which unveiled its J-20 less than two years ago, was no longer the sole player in China’s efforts to develop stealth aircraft. To date, two J-20 models have emerged and it is believed that the aircraft, which has encountered various delays mainly due to China’s engine technology “bottleneck,” will not be deployed before 2017 to 2019.
So far, there has been no confirmation that the covered fuselage seen in June and the prototype that emerged at the weekend are the same aircraft.
Defense experts remain divided on whether the J-20 and J-21, which outwardly have a similar appearance, with two engines, two tails and radar-evading design, would serve similar functions. However, preliminary image comparisons indicate that the J-21 is smaller than the J-20.
Some military analysts say that the PLAAF has been seeking more than one type of stealth aircraft, including a strike fighter and another serving as an air superiority fighter.
There has also been speculation that the J-21, which is sometimes referred to as the J-31, could serve as a carrier-based stealth complement to the non-stealthy J-15 “Flying Shark,” or as an export model, known as the F-60, to compete against Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35.
Writing in Wired yesterday, defense analyst David Axe said that the emergence of the new prototype did not immediately imply that both the J-20 and J-21 will go through the development, testing and full-scale production phases. The US Air Force stealth program, he wrote, gave rise to no less than four stealth fighter prototypes in the 1980s, of which only two — the F-22 and F-35 — were eventually adopted, following billions of dollars of investment.
It is not unusual for China to play one defense program against another as a means to increase competition and encourage innovation. Despite the huge costs involved, a now richer Chinese military could also be more inclined to fund two or more stealth programs if the aircraft are intended to serve different purposes.
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
More than 8,000 people took part in a rally in Taipei yesterday to express support for more defense spending, after the opposition slashed the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget and capped it at NT$780 billion. The demonstrators urged the Cabinet to propose another bill. Taiwan Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said the main problem of the passed budget plan is the removal of funding for critical items, not just that the total amount is smaller. Critical budget items included purchasing or developing uncrewed vehicles, Strong Bow (強弓) missile systems, additional ammunition, artificial intelligence-powered combat systems and Taiwan-US
RSS