In December 2010, China sent shockwaves through the West’s defense industry when the first images of the Chengdu J-20 stealthy interceptor appeared as it undertook taxi tests prior to its first flight in January 2011. Fourteen years later, China’s aviation industry has created another shock by revealing two prototypes of what appear to be sixth-generation fighters.
On December 26—the birthday of the People's Republic's founding father Mao Zedong—photos appeared on Chinese social media of both prototypes in a seemingly coordinated “unofficial” unveiling. The possible capabilities of both aircraft place them loosely in the category of the sixth-generation aircraft being developed in Europe and the U.S. As such, the new designs represent a significant advance in Chinese airpower potential in the coming years, and the likelihood that they might enter service some years before their Western counterparts being developed through initiatives such as Future Combat Air System, Next Generation Air Dominance, and Global Air Combat Program.
More In Aircraft
