Drones to become ‘loyal wingmen’ for China’s advanced J-20 stealth fighter jets, state media reports

China has started researching ways to turn the country’s advanced military drones into “loyal wingmen” for the country’s most powerful fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, the J-20, state media reported.

Using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) alongside piloted planes is a concept outlined by the United States in its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative.

China has tried to adopt the concept for its joint combat operations, according to the Military Technology programme on state broadcaster CCTV aired on October 12.

In a computer-generated graphic, CCTV showed a twin-seat J-20 commanding several stealth attack drones resembling the GJ-11 Sharp Sword drone. It is the first time state media has confirmed why the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group developed a twin-seat version of the J-20 – to accommodate a “weapons officer”.

Supported by artificial intelligence, big data, autonomous control, physical networks and other advanced technologies, China has become the world’s leading UAV developer in both the military and civilian arenas, CCTV said, adding that the country had developed different types of multirole drones of varying sizes and functions.

In the combat zone of the future, drones will replace the role of piloted stealth aircraft in “door-breaching” assaults, Beijing-based defence expert Wei Dongxu told CCTV.

“In tomorrow’s battlefield, joint cooperation operations between the piloted fifth-generation aircraft and stealthy drones will make up a powerful, stealthy air-combat squadron, connecting and communicating by information link that is supported by big data,” Wei told the state broadcaster.

“The back-seat pilot on a [twin-seat] stealth aircraft will give orders to their ‘loyal wingmen’ to make offensive attacks, letting the other [pilot] concentrate on flight control.”

China’s military gives a look at its first dedicated drone squadron

The CCTV footage indicated China had started making the twin-seat J-20 to test the American NGAD concept, said Song Zhongping, a defence commentator and former instructor of the People’s Liberation Army.

“In future, the GJ-11 would not be the only drone to be paired with the J-20 – other types of UAVs could also be optional ‘loyal wingmen’ to any aircraft platforms,” Song said.

“Also, the twin-seat J-20 aircraft will not be the only platform to apply the NGAD concept, because the new battle tactic could be also used on any twin-seat next-generation aircraft.”

The PLA is coming up with more NGAD combat options, Ge Lide, a professor with the army’s National Defence University, told CCTV. He cited the specific design of the GJ-11 drone shown on CCTV as an example.

“The compact body of the GJ-11 allows it to be launched on both ground-based airstrips and flight decks, while its embedded missile bay would increase its stealth, making it more capable of escaping radar detection,” Ge said.

“The embedded missile bay may limit its payload, but its precision strike capability could fix such a problem.”

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To enhance precision strikes launched by the “loyal wingmen”, China has also developed many types of “smart ammunition” with self-navigation capability, including miniatures such as the 850-gram (30-ounce) CH-817 mini-attack bomb, the 2,000-gram Feihong-901 cruise missile, the CCTV report said.

In 2020, the exchange of drone attacks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was a forerunner of combat tactics in future wars, pushing countries such as Russia, China, the US and other Western countries to step up their research into AI and drone technology.