New variants of Chinese stealth fighters break cover

This article by Mike Yeo was originally published by Military Times.

Two new variants of China’s stealth fighters have broken cover in the past three days, including China’s next carrier-based fighter, hinted at during a recent air show.

Photos and videos taken outside the Chengdu Aircraft factory in its namesake city on Tuesday showed a two-seat J-20 stealth fighter in overall primer, confirming persistent rumors such a variant was being developed by the company.

The photos and video, posted on Weibo and other social media portals, distinctly showed the aircraft’s tandem cockpit as it taxied toward the runway for take-off.

It’s not clear what role the back-seater would play, although a logical explanation would be that the rear seat would be occupied by a weapons system officer, or WSO, responsible for operating the J-20′s radar and weapons.

It has also been suggested the two-seat J-20, whose exact designation is as yet unknown, would be a manned-unmanned teaming mothership, controlling China’s version of a loyal wingman or other unmanned combat aerial vehicle or UCAV.

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Another possible use for a J-20 WSO is the primary sensor operator coordinating other networked, manned assets. Chinese aviation industry officials have said in the past they saw a potential use of the J-20 as a stealth airborne early warning aircraft, using multiple J-20s as a sensor net.

New carrier-borne fighter

In addition, photos surfaced earlier today of what appears to be China’s stealthy carrier-borne fighter taking to the air for the first time. As previously reported, industry officials said during the recent Zhuhai air show the new carrier-borne stealth fighter would make its first flight in 2021.

The photos also confirm the aircraft, whose exact designation is also unknown and is also left in primer, is a development of the redesigned Shenyang FC-31 stealth fighter that has also been called the J-31 in some quarters and was previously suggested as an export design.

The photos, taken while the aircraft was in flight, show the catapult launch bar on the nose landing gear and what appear to be hinges on the wings that allow them to be folded, a typical feature of carrier-based aircraft to allow the limited space on the flight deck and hangars to be maximized.

Related: Carrier Woes: The Navy’s fighters can’t reach China

The new type will likely equip the Type 003 carrier being built at a shipyard in the coastal megacity of Shanghai, which, unlike China’s two existing carriers, will be fitted with catapults that will allow it to shorten the aircraft launch cycle, as well as enable it to operate larger and heavier aircraft such as the Xi’an KJ-600 turboprop carrier-borne airborne early warning aircraft.

Satellite photos of the Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard where the Type 003 carrier is being built suggest the Type 003 will be equipped with three catapults and will be roughly the same size as the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford-class carriers.

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Feature image: Wikimedia Commons