World-class production lines speed up deliveries of China’s J-20 stealth jet fighter
- Mighty Dragon seen as PLA’s answer to US F-22 Raptor air-superiority fighter
- Numbers on planes in Zhuhai suggest China may have produced at least 200 J-20s
China is using world-class pulsating production lines to speed up deliveries of its advanced J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth jet fighters, military insiders and defence experts said.
A military insider said the increased production of J-20s was aimed at balancing the United States’ increasing deployment of its dominant air-superiority aircraft, the F-22, and another fifth-generation stealth jet fighter, the F-35, to the region.
The source said the application of the new pulsating production lines and domestic engines had pushed the number of J-20s to equal, or even exceed, the number of US F-22 Raptors. Pulsating production lines are also used by American aircraft giant Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-22 and F-35.
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China’s PLA Air Force aims to improve pilot training on J-20 fighter jets
Citing military aviation expert Andreas Rupprecht, US Defence News reported early this month that serial numbers painted on two of the four J-20s at the air show suggested its developer – Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group – had delivered at least 140 in its latest blocks, the third and fourth.
In January, the Post reported the People’s Liberation Army planned to deploy about 200 J-20s to meet intensive training demands designed to cope with the US’ increasing deployment of F-35s to the region.
The J-20 entered service in 2017 after the US deployed more than 100 F-35s to Japan and South Korea.