China unveils new stealth jet and ‘space-air fighter’

THESE ARE SCENES FROM THE 15TH ZHUHAI AIRSHOW IN CHINA. WHILE THERE WAS PLENTY OF ENTERTAINMENT FLYING ABOVE, THE SHOW ALSO GAVE THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY A CHANCE TO SHOWCASE SOME OF ITS LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST EYE-CATCHING ITEMS TO COME OUT OF THE SHOW.

FOR STARTERS,THIS YEAR’S AIRSHOW SAW THE UNVEILING OF CHINA’S NEWEST 5TH GEN STEALTH FIGHTER, THE J-35. NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE CRAFT,
OTHER THAN IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-35. CHINESE STATE-RUN MEDIA SAYS THE J-35 WAS DESIGNED MAINLY TO CARRY OUT THE TASK OF SEIZING AND MAINTAINING AIR SUPREMACY.

CHINA SHOWED OFF THE J-35A VARIANT DURING THE AIRSHOW. THE PLAAF IS REPORTEDLY DEVELOPING A ‘C’ VARIANT AS WELL, WHICH WILL BE USED TO TAKE OFF AND LAND ON ONE OF THREE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS THE PEOPLE’S LIBERTION ARMY NAVY ARE CURRENTLY BUILDING AND TESTING.

BOTH THE J-35 VARIANTS ARE NOTICEABLY SMALLER THAN CHINA’S FIRST STEALTH FIGHTER, THE J-20, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ‘MIGHTY DRAGON.’
AT THIS YEAR’S AIRSHOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PUBLIC, A GROUP OF J-20 STEALTH FIGHTERS PERFORMED A SERIES OF AERIAL MANEUVERS TO SHOWCASE BOTH THE SKILL OF THE PILOTS AND JUST HOW NIMBLE J-20S ARE. MIGHTY DRAGONS BEAR A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO THE U.S.-MADE F-22 RAPTOR, AND ARE DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT, ALSO LIKE THE RAPTOR.

ANOTHER AIRCRAFT WAS ALSO UNVEILED AT THE SHOW, REALLY A MOCK-UP OF AN AIRCRAFT. IT’S CALLED THE ‘WHITE EMPEROR.’ CHINA SAYS THE ALLEGED 6TH-GENERATION STEALTH AIRCRAFT IS AN ‘INTEGRATED SPACE-AIR FIGHTER,’
ABLE TO FLY AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS AND THEN LEAVE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE.
IT’S NOT REALLY CLEAR IF CHINA IS ACTUALLY DEVELOPING THE WHITE EMPEROR,
OR IF THIS IS MISDIRECTION. CHINA HAD MAJOR PROBLEMS MAKING JET ENGINES DOMESTICALLY, AND STILL DOES. SO, IT SEEMS UNLIKELY THE PRC SUDDENLY MADE SUCH DRASTIC LEAPS FORWARD IN DEVELOPING A POWER SOURCE FOR SUCH A CRAFT.

AS THE PACING CHALLENGER TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY, THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY IS ALSO HEAVILY INVESTED IN DEVELOPING DRONES AND OTHER UNMANNED COMBAT AERIAL VEHICLES, OR UCAVs.

LIKE THE CH-7, DEVELOPED BY THE CHINA AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE AIR SHOW, THE PLA RELEASED THIS VIDEO OF THE CH-7 TAKING OFF FROM AN UNKNOWN AIRSTRIP.
DEVELOPMENT ON THE UCAV STARTED YEARS AGO, AND IT LOOKS PRETTY SIMILAR TO U.S.-MADE STEALTH BOMBERS LIKE THE B-2 SPIRIT AND B-21 RAIDER.

LIKE THOSE U.S.-MADE AIRCRAFT CHINA DESIGNED THE CH-7 TO BE A STEALTH BOMBER, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE AN UNCREWED STEALTH BOMBER. CHINA SAYS THE CH-7 CAN PENETRATE ENEMY AIRSPACE AT HIGH ALTITUDES TO ENGAGE TARGETS USING PRECISION-GUIDED BOMBS, AND THE UNMANNED FEATURE OF THE PLANE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE CHINA’S LONG-RANGE BOMBER CAPABILITIES.

SPEAKING OF BOMBERS, CHINA IS STILL WORKING ON DEVELOPING ITS H-20 HEAVY STEALTH BOMBER. A VIDEO BOARD AT AIRSHOW CHINA DISPLAYED A RENDERING OF THE BOMBER FLYING IN FORMATION WITH SOME FIGHTERS. WHEN THERE’S MORE TO REPORT ON THE H-20, WE’LL HAVE IT FOR YOU.

OF COURSE, AIR DOMINANCE ISN’T JUST ABOUT WHAT SORT OF PLANES YOU CAN PUT UP, BUT WHAT SORT OF PLANES OR WEAPONS YOU CAN TAKE DOWN.

TO THAT END, AIRSHOW CHINA ALSO SAW THE UNVEILING OF THE NEW HQ-19 LONG-RANGE SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILE SYSTEM. BASICALLY CHINA’S VERSION OF THE U.S.-MADE THAAD-ER SYSTEM. THE MOBILE LAUNCHER CARRIES SIX INTERCEPTORS, WHICH CAN TAKE DOWN AIRCRAFT, BUT ARE PRIMARILY DESIGNED TO USE AGAINST BALLISTIC MISSILES.

THE HQ-19 HAS REPORTEDLY BEEN IN SERVICE WITH THE PLA FOR SOME TIME. SO, THE PUBLIC UNVEILING IS SEEN AS A WAY FOR CHINA TO FURTHER PROJECT FORCE IN THE REGION.

LASTLY, WHILE IT WAS AN AIRSHOW THE PLA NAVY WANTED TO MAKE A SPLASH TOO. THIS TRIMARAN IS THE PLA NAVY’S NEWEST UNMANNED WARSHIP, CALLED THE ‘KILLER WHALE.’

CHINESE MEDIA SAYS IT’S 190 FEET LONG, CAN CRUISE AT 40 KNOTS, AND HAS A RANGE OF AROUND 4,000 NAUTICAL MILES. IN A RATHER FAMILIAR THEME, THE KILLER WHALE LOOKS A LOT LIKE THE U.S. NAVY’S LITTORAL COMBAT SHIPS, WHICH WERE DESIGNED TO HAVE SWAPPABLE WEAPONS COMPONENTS DEPENDING ON THE MISSION. WHILE THE U.S. NAVY DID AWAY WITH SWAPPING OUT WEAPONS SYSTEMS ON ITS LCS VESSELS, IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHINESE ARE LEANING INTO THE IDEA. BEIJING SAYS THE KILLER WHALE CAN PERFORM MARITIME PATROLS, SURFACE WARFARE, ANTI-SUBMARINE OPERATIONS, AIR DEFENSE MISSIONS OR SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS.

NOW, JUST BECAUSE CHINA CLAIMS ITS WEAPONS SYSTEMS CAN PERFORM CERTAIN TASKS UP TO CERTAIN LEVELS DOESN’T MEAN THEY ACTUALLY CAN. BUT MILITARY PLANNERS CAN’T TAKE THAT CHANCE. SO, IF CHINA CLAIMS ITS NEW WARSHIPS OR PLANES CAN OPERATE EFFECTIVELY AGAINST U.S. METHODS OF DETECTION AND INTRADICTION, THEN WEAPONS MAKERS IN THE U.S. WILL NEED TO DEVELOP NEW WAYS TO STAY AHEAD, AND THE CAT AND MOUSE GAME THAT IS WARFARE CONTINUES.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON. FOR MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY, OR LOG ONTO SAN.COM