Zhuhai air show opens with J-20 stealth fighter’s public debut likely to steal the limelight
Also on display is newly-developed Chinese radar system that can detect stealth aircraft, developers reveal
China’s biggest air show opened in Zhuhai on Tuesday with about half of the nation’s weapons systems on display for the first time at the event, according to organisers, including fighter aircraft and advanced radar equipment.
Dignitaries attending the opening ceremony for the six-day show included the Deputy Chairman of the powerful Central Military Comission, Fan Changlong, and the commander of the PLA Air Force Ma Xiaotian.
Watch: First public showing of China’s next generation J-20 fighter jet
One of the highlights of the show will be China’s next generation J-20 fighter jet, the first public showing of the warplane.
It will fly over the show each day after taking off from an airfield in nearby Foshan, but visitors will not be able to view the aircraft close up on the ground.
A official in the People’s Liberation Air Force staff department, who would not give their name, said: “It is because the J-20 contains many of China’s top technologies in stealth aircraft plus other military secrets. The secrets include the J-20’s body shape, the proportion of its wing and body and other secrets as aircraft experts can easily calculate its stealth parameters from its exterior.”
