https://www.scmp.com/rss/519865/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Holly Chik Holly Chik China is set to supercharge the advanced J-20 stealth fighter with avionics upgrades to its radar, engines and AI integration to cement the fifth-generation jet’s pivotal position in aerial warfare, a military analyst told state media. The Mighty Dragon, China’s answer to the American F-22 Raptor, was also effectively operating alongside the country’s stealth attack drone and early warning aircraft, military commentator Zhang Xuefeng told state broadcaster CCTV in a programme on Saturday. Sunday... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339481/china-set-supercharge-fifth-gen-j-20-stealth-fighter-radar-engine-and-ai-upgrades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3339481/china-set-supercharge-fifth-gen-j-20-stealth-fighter-radar-engine-and-ai-upgrades?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 10:00:16 +0000 Amber Wang Amber Wang China’s carrier-borne J-35 fighter has a radar cross-section smaller than a human palm, pointing to a big step forward in stealth technology, according to state media. The size of the cross-section – a measure of how detectable an object is by radar – was revealed in a programme aired on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday. “As a stealth fighter, the J-35 series’ low observability comes from its unique airframe shape and the country’s proprietary metamaterial technology,” CCTV reported. “In the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3327146/chinas-j-35-fighter-jet-stealthier-us-f-35?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3327146/chinas-j-35-fighter-jet-stealthier-us-f-35?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 11:00:09 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China has unveiled a metre-wave radar that can detect American fifth-generation stealth fighters, such as the F-22 and F-35, according to state media. The JY-27V radar, which is mounted on a military truck for mobility, works with very high frequency (VHF) radio waves. It can capture and locate “extremely stealthy targets” and guide an air-defence system for a precision strike, according to its developer, state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC). It unveiled the JY-27V... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3311054/china-aims-new-jy-27v-radar-stealthy-targets-such-americas-fifth-gen-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3311054/china-aims-new-jy-27v-radar-stealthy-targets-such-americas-fifth-gen-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 May 2025 10:02:07 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen While US stealth fighters like the F-22 Raptor grapple with delaminating radar-absorbent coatings – a vulnerability likened to “moulting cicada wings” – China claims to have found an ancient solution for its fifth-generation jets. Recent revelations by defence industry researchers suggest that cutting-edge stealth technology aboard China’s smooth-skinned stealth fighters may owe its resilience to a 3,000-year-old textile innovation: the art of silk jacquard weaving. Modern stealth aircraft,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3300330/how-china-solving-f-22s-stealth-coating-cracks-3000-year-old-silk-weaving-tech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3300330/how-china-solving-f-22s-stealth-coating-cracks-3000-year-old-silk-weaving-tech?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Mar 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen China and the United States boast the most formidable stealth fighter jets in the world – but which one reigns supreme? A team of Chinese military experts decided to find out, so they conducted a simulated battle between a J-20 of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and an F-22 of the US, setting the stage to the north of Taiwan. To be cautious, the Chinese jet’s technical specs, including radar prowess and stealth capabilities, were deliberately set lower than its American counterpart. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3288501/j-20s-vs-f-22-how-drones-flip-battle-mighty-stealth-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3288501/j-20s-vs-f-22-how-drones-flip-battle-mighty-stealth-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Nov 2024 14:00:09 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen A groundbreaking radar being developed by Chinese scientists could detect and track F-22 stealth fighter jets using signals from China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system. Using a simple receiving antenna, the radar is cost-effective, can be deployed almost anywhere on Earth and does not emit signals that might reveal its location. Plus, if BeiDou is jammed, it can switch frequency bands to use GPS, Europe’s Galileo, or Russia’s GLONASS, ensuring uninterrupted operation. In a peer-reviewed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3282688/can-chinas-beidou-radar-detect-f-22-stealth-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3282688/can-chinas-beidou-radar-detect-f-22-stealth-fighters?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:00:08 +0000 Researchers from the Chinese air force say they have developed radar technology aimed at better detecting the F-22 and other stealth aircraft. The US military has touted the F-22 as the world’s most formidable fighter jet, with a radar cross-section (RCS) believed to be as small as 1 sq cm (0.16 sq in) – about the size of a fingernail. The Chinese team led by Xie Junwei, from the air and missile defence college of the Air Force Engineering University in Xian, Shaanxi province, said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3259428/chinese-scientists-increase-f-22-fighter-jets-radar-signature-60000-times-new-detection-method-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3259428/chinese-scientists-increase-f-22-fighter-jets-radar-signature-60000-times-new-detection-method-study?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Apr 2024 06:00:27 +0000 A new breed of China’s unmanned hypersonic aircraft can now challenge the aerodynamic performance of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the US military, according to a group of scientists from Beijing. The new hypersonic drone boasts a lift-to-drag ratio of 8.4 in subsonic flight. While it is not exceptionally high, it is already on a par to that of the F-22 Raptor. The lift-to-drag ratio is a crucial parameter for measuring aerodynamic efficiency. A higher value indicates greater resistance... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3254642/chinas-new-hypersonic-drone-beats-f-22-aerodynamic-efficiency-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3254642/chinas-new-hypersonic-drone-beats-f-22-aerodynamic-efficiency-study?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2024 14:00:13 +0000 A comparison of US jets by Chinese military scientists has shown the F-35 to be a greater threat in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait than the older F-22, which is still generally regarded as the world’s most powerful stealth aircraft. The study, published in the Chinese language journal Modern Defence Technology, analysed the threat levels of various US military aircraft in different stages of a penetrating counter air operation at a range of distances from China’s coastline. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3217545/f-35-tops-chinas-threat-list-beating-older-f-22-military-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3217545/f-35-tops-chinas-threat-list-beating-older-f-22-military-study?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Apr 2023 08:00:18 +0000 The United States has started replacing the antiquated F-15 fighter jets at its bases in Okinawa with the more advanced F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, in a move seen as part of a redeployment of its assets in the region to prepare for a Taiwan contingency. Defence experts said the arrangement – which puts the F-22s on a six-month rotation from Alaska starting this month – could prevent the United States’ expensive assets from becoming targets for Chinese missiles because the advanced jets would... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3200132/does-us-have-china-mind-f-22-deployment-its-bases-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3200132/does-us-have-china-mind-f-22-deployment-its-bases-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Nov 2022 10:00:12 +0000 United States F-22 fighter jets arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, part of an American defence response to recent missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the country. The Raptors landed at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, which hosts some 2,000 US troops. American soldiers there launched Patriot interceptor missiles in response to the Houthi attacks last month, the first time US troops have fired the system in combat since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. American... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3166842/united-states-f-22-fighter-jets-arrive-uae-after-yemens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3166842/united-states-f-22-fighter-jets-arrive-uae-after-yemens?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 18:30:42 +0000 China will start upgrading the engines of its most advanced stealth fighter jet, the J-20, this year to bring its performance closer to the American F-22 Raptor, according to a military source. The performance of the fighter, also known as the Mighty Dragon, had been limited because it has been using a stopgap engine, the WS-10C, the latest model of an engine used in earlier Chinese warplanes. China’s cutting-edge fighter engine a no-show after failing tests These are now being fitted with new... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3163986/china-start-upgrading-j-20-fighter-engines-bid-close-gap-us-f?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3163986/china-start-upgrading-j-20-fighter-engines-bid-close-gap-us-f?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jan 2022 21:00:14 +0000 An unusually large sortie of US warplanes deployed to join a naval exercise is an explicit warning to China and may be aimed at countering China’s next-generation strategic bombers, analysts said. The assessment followed media reports that the United States was this month sending dozens of F-22 Raptors to join a military exercise in Guam and Tinian island in the western Pacific for Operation Pacific Iron 2021. Pacific Iron 2021 is an operation by the US Air Force to project forces into the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3141710/china-us-tension-american-naval-drill-dozens-f-22s-may-be-aimed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3141710/china-us-tension-american-naval-drill-dozens-f-22s-may-be-aimed?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jul 2021 15:00:11 +0000