New Chinese Stealth Fighter
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:49 pm
The Chinese stealth fighter jet photographs that were leaked online since December seem to only be prototypes of the aircraft, not the real deal -- at least that's what U.S officials are saying. According to Reuters, the U.S. believes that the J-20 stealth fighter jets are far too technologically advanced for China at this point, and that the photographs show what is to become of future J-20 jets.
The photographs, published on the front page of The Wall Street Journal as wel as on a number of websites, come just days before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to travel to Beijing on Sunday, Reuters reports.
The WSJ reported that many experts believed the Chinese stealth fighter jet photographs were authentic, which can be a concern for the U.S. as it is a strong indicator that China is making quick progress in developing a rival to the world's only operational stealth fighter, the Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor.
Chinese Stealth Fighter - J-20 Stealth FighterJ-20 Stealth Fighter
Source: Wikipedia
U.S. Vice Admiral David Dorsett, the director of naval intelligence, told reporters Wednesday that deployment of the F-20 stealth fighter is years away.
"It's still not clear to me when it's going to become operational," Dorsett said. "Developing a stealth capability with a prototype and then integrating that into a combat environment is going to take some time."
Accordnig to Reuters, a U.S. intelligence official estimated that the Chinese stealth fighter could rival the F-22 Raptor within eight years.
"We're anticipating Chian to have a fifth-generation fighter...operational right around 2018," Wayne Ulman of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center said in May of last year.
The photographs, published on the front page of The Wall Street Journal as wel as on a number of websites, come just days before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to travel to Beijing on Sunday, Reuters reports.
The WSJ reported that many experts believed the Chinese stealth fighter jet photographs were authentic, which can be a concern for the U.S. as it is a strong indicator that China is making quick progress in developing a rival to the world's only operational stealth fighter, the Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor.
Chinese Stealth Fighter - J-20 Stealth FighterJ-20 Stealth Fighter
Source: Wikipedia
U.S. Vice Admiral David Dorsett, the director of naval intelligence, told reporters Wednesday that deployment of the F-20 stealth fighter is years away.
"It's still not clear to me when it's going to become operational," Dorsett said. "Developing a stealth capability with a prototype and then integrating that into a combat environment is going to take some time."
Accordnig to Reuters, a U.S. intelligence official estimated that the Chinese stealth fighter could rival the F-22 Raptor within eight years.
"We're anticipating Chian to have a fifth-generation fighter...operational right around 2018," Wayne Ulman of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center said in May of last year.