Why two heads would be better than one for China’s ‘Mighty Dragon’ fighter jet

A twin-seater version of China’s most advanced fighter jet the J-20 would be able to target enemy electronic equipment and operate in tandem with swarms of drones, according to a defence industry magazine.

The article, published by Chinese military magazine Ordnance Industry Science Technology, said the fifth-generation fighter would be expected to carry out more tasks as the technology evolved, and a second crew member would be needed to carry out some of those functions.

“The emergence of a twin-seat version of the J-20 is because the J-20’s mission has diversified and China needs a more capable fighter jet,” the article said. 

The article predicted that the J-20’s twin-seat version would be equipped with more advanced electronic equipment than is found in other Chinese twin-seaters.

“It’s a piece of cake for the J-20 to perform [electronic interference] duties because of its strong power supply capacity, fire-control radar and integrated avionics system,” the article said.

“We can imagine that the front pilot will be in charge of flying the aircraft, while the pilot sitting behind is in charge of controlling the electronic inference platform, making the J-20 a nightmare for enemy electronic equipment.”