J-20 Stealth Fighter

China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Is Operational

The Chengdu J-20 is the third "fifth generation" fighter in service worldwide.

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By Kyle Mizokami

According to a Chinese military spokesman, China's first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, has officially entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. First revealed in 2011, the J-20 is only the third stealth fighter to enter service with any air force, after the F-22A Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, made the announcement on September 28th in Beijing. The aircraft was known as the J-20 during development, but the operational aircraft is apparently called the J-20A. This mirrors the development of the F-22 Raptor, which was labelled the F-22A Raptor when it entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005.

China's development of the J-20A goes back to the late 1990s, when the government decided to begin work on a large, twin engine fighter. The first leaked photos of the aircraft appeared in December 2010, and the fighter was finally sighted in early January 2011 at Huangtianba airfield. U.S. intelligence expected the J-20A would enter service in 2018.


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The J-20 has had a very public development period, with at least seven prototypes appearing over the last six years, often with subtle but important improvements. The fighter's nose shape, canopy, air intakes, and wheel doors were all altered and improved. Engineers added radar-absorbent paint to further reduce the J-20's radar signature. An infrared search and track sensor was added, which uses infrared cameras to detect, identify, track and ultimately shoot at enemy aircraft with infrared guided missiles.

Yet another addition was a distributed aperture system (DAS), a series of cameras mounted on the airplane that allows the pilot to "see" in all directions using a 4K cockpit display. The only other fighter with a DAS is the F-35.

The official role of the J-20A is unknown, but it is most likely meant as a long-range fighter. The airplane stores all of its weapons internally to preserve its radar-evading shape, and has three internal bays: one large bay for up to six PL-12 beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, roughly the same as the American AIM-120 missile, and two smaller bays with one short range air-to-air missile each.

J-20 fighters have flown with the 176 Brigade, a part of the air force's China Flight Test Establishment, for approximately a year. It's unclear what unit of the PLAAF the J-20A is operational with.