China Reveals Fifth-Generation Stealth Jet's Missile Payload At Zhuhai Air Show



Each plane showed four medium- and long-range missiles in its central bays and a short-range missile on...

Fri, 11/16/2018 - 01:00
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Last week, Beijing’s fifth-generation stealth jets displayed a dazzling fifteen-minute performance at Airshow China 2018. The jets wowed more than 20,000 spectators by performing combat maneuvers in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.
Two of the four J-20 stealth jets opened their missile bay doors during the presentation, according to new images in a South China Morning Post report. Each plane showed four medium- and long-range missiles in its central bays and a short-range missile on both sides of the aircraft.



In a Xinhua video, the stunning performance lasted roughly one minute, as the stealth jets showed thousands of spectators the exotic weapons mounted inside the bays



Youtube Video https://youtu.be/TVDqqRM83ZE

Xu Anxiang, deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, said the demonstration last week indicates that the J-20 “has the initial operational capability.”
However, it remains a mystery whether the J-20 is capable of launching missiles in high-speed flight.
“The capability to open bay doors during a high-speed fly-past is still a challenging and advanced technology and capability, because even Russia’s new-generation Su-57 stealth fighter jet is still incapable of doing it,” a military insider who requested anonymity told the South China Morning Post.
The report specifies that only the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II stealth jets are the only fifth-generation jets to be combat proven with opening missile bay doors and launch capabilities at high-speed flight.



The Global Times, citing Chinese military experts, said "the move displayed the J-20's superiority" over America's stealth jets, and increased the confidence of the People's Liberation Army to safeguard the South China Sea with high-tech planes, a move that has Washington worried.




Chinese experts also said the F-22 is outdated technology and the F-35 is full of defects. Song Zhongping, previously commented that "the J-20 will engage with rivals in the future who dare to provoke China in the air," which means there is a strong possibility that fifth-generation stealth jets from China and the US could fight it out over the South China Sea.



While the J-20 has participated in war games, the plane, unlike its American counterparts, has never seen actual combat.
The plane does not meet all requirements for a true fifth-generation fighter, and its inferior engine technology is a massive drag on performance. The aircraft is expected to receive a new engine, but it remains unreliable in static tests, indicating, for now, the J-20 relies on Russia for its engine technology.
It seems China has somewhat mastered the field of cutting-edge aviation technology that was once dominated by the US. It is only a matter of time before the J-20 receives a new engine and is deployed across the South China Sea.



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...huhai-air-show