China’s first stealth fighter J-20, has reportedly made its first test flight, according to Chinese Reports. It was reported that China’s Stealth Fighter, J-20 made a 15-minute flight from 12:50 to 13:05 hrs in southwest China’s Chengdu city.
China has carried out the test flight of its advanced laser-evading stealth fighter J-20, according to media reports, perfectly timing the event to coincide with the visit of U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates to the country.
The J-20 stealth fighter is proof to China’s rapid advancement in military aviation technology, however the timing of the test flight appears to have an hidden message towards U.S.
Chinese media have projected the J-20 as a massive competitor to the United States’ F-22 Raptor. Japanese newspaper Ashai Shimbun said last week the fighter will be equipped with large missiles and could reach island of Guam, a US territory in the western pacific with the aerial refueling.
The J-20 is a twin-engine multi-role heavy fighter with stealth capability and maneuverability as compared to American F-22 RAPTOR. J-20 also incoporates an advanced FBW(fly by wire) system fully integrated with the fire-control and the engine systems. Its fire-control radar is expected to be AESA (Type 1475/KLJ5).
Chinese media said, photographs of the twin-engine plane making its first flight were splashed over Chinese websites. The videos of the fighter doing runway tests had been leaked out last week and numerous photographs of this stealth aircraft are already available on the internet.The J-20 prototype was first photographed when it was preparing for high-speed taxing trial at the CAC airfield on December 22, 2010.The Wall Street Journal also said nobody from the Chinese military establishment could confirm the report of the J-20’s first flight.
This successful launch of the J-20 will lift China’s air warfare capability and strengthen its defence aviation capabilities as it will bridge a huge gap with the U.S technology. Presently the F-22 Raptor is the only fully operational stealth fighter in the world.
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