20 vs. F-35; Is American F-35 can counter J-20 in Pacific ?
The rapid modernisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and of the aerial warfare assets of other branches of the country’s armed forces has brought about a shift in the balance of power over the skies of the Asia-Pacific which has been viewed highly unfavourable by the United States and its Western partners, which previously retained undisputed military dominance of the region. Alongside acquisition of state of the art air defence platforms such as the S-400 with advanced counter-stealth capabilities and a series of increasingly capable anti aircraft missiles such as the PL-15, perhaps the most symbolic acquisition representing China’s emergence as a peer competitor to the U.S. in terms of the quality of its aerial warfare assets is the induction of the country’s first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, into service in 2017.
The J-20 is a twin engine fifth generation air superiority fighter - fulfilling an analogous role to the American F-22 Raptor in U.S. service - and is the first and only fighter of its generation to be successfully developed outside the United States. The fighter combines the benefits of a high end air superiority airframe - namely a heavy and powerful radar and high speed, manoeuvrability, operational altitude and weapons payload - with the strengths of fifth generation technologies - foremost among which are a radar evading stealth profile and radar absorbent coatings, active electronically scanned array radar systems and next generation electronic warfare and avionics systems.
The J-20 also includes a number of technologies not found on earlier fifth generation designs such as the F-22 including a distributed aperture system for improved situational awareness - with new technologies continuing to be integrated as the rate of production continues to grow.
"J-20 stealth air superiority fighter "
While the most direct analogue to the J-20 is the F-22, by far the most capable Western fighter ever designed for air to air combat, America's Raptor fleet cannot be relied on to maintain a balance of power favourable to U.S. interests in the Pacific. Production of the fighters was terminated prematurely in 2009, meeting just 25% of the Air Force’s requirements with just 187 fighters - largely due to the platform’s exceptionally high operational costs and maintenance requirements which made deploying a larger fleet extremely costly to the U.S. Air Force throughout the Raptor’s lifespan. 20 vs. F-35; Is American F-35 can counter J-20 in Pacific ?
The rapid modernisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and of the aerial warfare assets of other branches of the country’s armed forces has brought about a shift in the balance of power over the skies of the Asia-Pacific which has been viewed highly unfavourable by the United States and its Western partners, which previously retained undisputed military dominance of the region. Alongside acquisition of state of the art air defence platforms such as the S-400 with advanced counter-stealth capabilities and a series of increasingly capable anti aircraft missiles such as the PL-15, perhaps the most symbolic acquisition representing China’s emergence as a peer competitor to the U.S. in terms of the quality of its aerial warfare assets is the induction of the country’s first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, into service in 2017.
The J-20 is a twin engine fifth generation air superiority fighter - fulfilling an analogous role to the American F-22 Raptor in U.S. service - and is the first and only fighter of its generation to be successfully developed outside the United States. The fighter combines the benefits of a high end air superiority airframe - namely a heavy and powerful radar and high speed, manoeuvrability, operational altitude and weapons payload - with the strengths of fifth generation technologies - foremost among which are a radar evading stealth profile and radar absorbent coatings, active electronically scanned array radar systems and next generation electronic warfare and avionics systems.
The J-20 also includes a number of technologies not found on earlier fifth generation designs such as the F-22 including a distributed aperture system for improved situational awareness - with new technologies continuing to be integrated as the rate of production continues to grow.
"J-20 stealth air superiority fighter " While the most direct analogue to the J-20 is the F-22, by far the most capable Western fighter ever designed for air to air combat, America's Raptor fleet cannot be relied on to maintain a balance of power favourable to U.S. interests in the Pacific. Production of the fighters was terminated prematurely in 2009, meeting just 25% of the Air Force’s requirements with just 187 fighters - largely due to the platform’s exceptionally high operational costs and maintenance requirements which made deploying a larger fleet extremely costly to the U.S. Air Force throughout the Raptor’s lifespan. Furthermore, unlike the J-20, the Raptor was first produced in the 1990s and retains computer architecture from the time, which combined with the closing of production lines makes the fighter difficult to upgrade - whether with new missiles to match the range of updated Chinese designs or with new electronic warfare systems and countermeasures. The fact that there is no carrier variant of the Raptor, with this program also having been cancelled due to the extreme projected costs further limited the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy the fifth generation fighters to the Asia-Pacific or demonstrate its power by sailing the fighters near potential hotspots on a carrier strike group.
"F-22 and F-35" As a result of the limitations of the F-22 to balance China’s fast growing J-20 fleet, the U.S. resorted to deploying its F-35 single engine lightweight multirole fighters to Northeast Asia to prevent the PLA from gaining an overwhelming advantage in the field. Plans include deployments of the Air Force's F-35A, Marine Corps' F-35B and Navy's F-35C - with deployments centring around a large contingent stationed in Japan. According to a statement by head of the Pacific Air Forces U.S. General Charles Brown in early May 2019, this was precisely the purpose of additional F-35 deployments - to “push back” against PLA deployments of the J-20. Alluding to the Chinese J-20 program and H-20 stealth bomber program, both intended to engage near peer adversaries such as the U.S. Military, the General stated: “they’ll continue to push the envelop to figure out does anybody say or do anything - if you don’t push back it’ll keep coming.” He thus stated that he expected the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific to have 200 F-35s operating in the Pacific by 2025 - with Japan’s armed forces planning over 100 F-35A and 42 F-35B fighters and South Korea planning a further 60 - the latter which would place these squadrons under direct U.S. command in the event of a war in the region. Further sporadic deployments on aircraft carriers can quickly reinforce these assets, with the Wasp and American Class ships capable of operating 20 F-35B fighters each and the larger Nimitz and Gerald Ford Class supercarriers set to deploy around 40 F-35C fighters each. American supercarriers are able to theoretically accommodate 70 stealth fighters in five or more squadrons alongside supporting E-2 Hawkeye AWACS platforms,and could increase the numbers of stealth jets under U.S. command in the region significantly on short notice.
Unlike the F-22, which cannot be manufactured in larger numbers making a numerical advantage for the J-20 inevitable, the F-35 is set to be manufactured for decades to come on a far larger scale than the Raptor - allowing the U.S. to potentially deploy the newer stealth jets to East Asia to keep up with or even try to surpass Chinese deployments of its own stealth jets. Furthermore, like the J-20 but unlike the Raptor, the F-35 can be upgraded incrementally with little difficulty to integrate new systems allowing it to better keep pace with the Chinese platform - with modern computer architecture and integration of a number of advanced systems the Raptor lacks. While it benefits from being the only Western fifth generation fighter in production however, the F-35 is far from the ideal platform to counter the J-20 given its design, specifications and intended role which differs markedly from both the Chinese jet and the Raptor.
A comparison of the F-35 and the J-20 reveals a significant discrepancy in their performance in aerial combat - in line with the starkly different roles for which they were designed. The estimated loaded weight of the J-20 is 45% higher than the F-35, and with a considerably longer range and double the air to air missile payload of the lighter American jet. The J-20 also retains an advantage in the performance of its air to air missiles , with the 150km range of the Chinese PL-15 outperforming the 105km range of the AIM-120C deployed by the F-35.
Both aircraft are set to receive new longer ranged air to air missiles in the near future, including the ramjet powered PL-12D for the J-20 and AIM-120D for the F-35 - with the Chinese platform agains expected to have a slight advantage over its American counterpart. The AIM-120D is currently deployed exclusively by the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptors, and a variant compatible with the F-35’s smaller weapons bays has yet to enter service.
Other than the advantages of its missile armament, the J-20 also complements this with a considerably heavier Type 1475 active electronically scanned radar. While this is not thought to be more sophisticated than the F-35’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81, by virtue of its far larger size it is considerably more powerful - an advantage common for heavy twin engine fighters over their lighter single engine counterparts. The J-20’s flight performance is also considerably ahead of the F-35, with the ability to exceed Mach 2.2 and reach altitudes of 20km or more where the F-35 is restricted to a low speed of Mach 1.6 and 15.5km altitude.
This allows the J-20 to impart considerably more energy to its missiles upon launch, with major altitude and speed advantages providing it with a significant edge over the American fighter. While the aircraft are currently comparable in their manoeuvrability, J-20 fighters will begin to integrate the WS-15 engine from the early 2020s providing an expected 40% more thrust and making it far more manoeuvrable. This combined with possible induction of thrust vectoring engines, either two dimensional like the F-22 Raptor or three dimensional like the Su-35, will provide it with a considerable survivability and manoeuvrability advantage.
While the two aircraft are peers at the cutting edge of fifth generation technology, both fielding advanced technologies which the older F-22 lacks, the very different roles of the twin and single engine fighters means that the F-35 is a far from ideal platform to counter its heavier and far more specialised Chinese rival. Indeed, the F-35’s only signifiant advantage appears to be its marginally superior radar cross section reducing profile - with both fighters less stealthy than the F-22 but moreso than the Russian Su-57 placing them in a comparable range of stealth profiles.
Ultimately the F-35’s deployment to East Asia can provide a symbolic counter to the J-20, and with both aircraft being high end stealth fighters with next generation capabilities the important distinction between single and twin engine platforms, multirole and air superiority designs and the resulting discrepancy in their capabilities, there may be a tendency among both analysts and officials to equate them. With the F-35 outmatched by the J-20 however, and the F-22 limited in its ability to counter its direct Chinese counterpart due to its limited numbers, high maintenance and difficulty incorporating upgrades.
the U.S. Air Force will likely need to wait until the mid-late 2020s when its first sixth generation air superiority fighters are developed - platforms currently in the works and designed largely with countering the J-20 and other advanced PLA platforms such as the Su-35 and J-11D in mind. Until then however, the options for countering the fast growing numbers of J-20 fighters deployed by the PLA remain highly limited.
#Gm
Courtesy _Military WatchFurthermore, unlike the J-20, the Raptor was first produced in the 1990s and retains computer architecture from the time, which combined with the closing of production lines makes the fighter difficult to upgrade - whether with new missiles to match the range of updated Chinese designs or with new electronic warfare systems and countermeasures. The fact that there is no carrier variant of the Raptor, with this program also having been cancelled due to the extreme projected costs further limited the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy the fifth generation fighters to the Asia-Pacific or demonstrate its power by sailing the fighters near potential hotspots on a carrier strike group.
"F-22 and F-35"
As a result of the limitations of the F-22 to balance China’s fast growing J-20 fleet, the U.S. resorted to deploying its F-35 single engine lightweight multirole fighters to Northeast Asia to prevent the PLA from gaining an overwhelming advantage in the field. Plans include deployments of the Air Force's F-35A, Marine Corps' F-35B and Navy's F-35C - with deployments centring around a large contingent stationed in Japan. According to a statement by head of the Pacific Air Forces U.S. General Charles Brown in early May 2019, this was precisely the purpose of additional F-35 deployments - to “push back” against PLA deployments of the J-20. Alluding to the Chinese J-20 program and H-20 stealth bomber program, both intended to engage near peer adversaries such as the U.S. Military, the General stated: “they’ll continue to push the envelop to figure out does anybody say or do anything - if you don’t push back it’ll keep coming.” He thus stated that he expected the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific to have 200 F-35s operating in the Pacific by 2025 - with Japan’s armed forces planning over 100 F-35A and 42 F-35B fighters and South Korea planning a further 60 - the latter which would place these squadrons under direct U.S. command in the event of a war in the region. Further sporadic deployments on aircraft carriers can quickly reinforce these assets, with the Wasp and American Class ships capable of operating 20 F-35B fighters each and the larger Nimitz and Gerald Ford Class supercarriers set to deploy around 40 F-35C fighters each. American supercarriers are able to theoretically accommodate 70 stealth fighters in five or more squadrons alongside supporting E-2 Hawkeye AWACS platforms,and could increase the numbers of stealth jets under U.S. command in the region significantly on short notice.
Unlike the F-22, which cannot be manufactured in larger numbers making a numerical advantage for the J-20 inevitable, the F-35 is set to be manufactured for decades to come on a far larger scale than the Raptor - allowing the U.S. to potentially deploy the newer stealth jets to East Asia to keep up with or even try to surpass Chinese deployments of its own stealth jets. Furthermore, like the J-20 but unlike the Raptor, the F-35 can be upgraded incrementally with little difficulty to integrate new systems allowing it to better keep pace with the Chinese platform - with modern computer architecture and integration of a number of advanced systems the Raptor lacks. While it benefits from being the only Western fifth generation fighter in production however, the F-35 is far from the ideal platform to counter the J-20 given its design, specifications and intended role which differs markedly from both the Chinese jet and the Raptor.
A comparison of the F-35 and the J-20 reveals a significant discrepancy in their performance in aerial combat - in line with the starkly different roles for which they were designed. The estimated loaded weight of the J-20 is 45% higher than the F-35, and with a considerably longer range and double the air to air missile payload of the lighter American jet. The J-20 also retains an advantage in the performance of its air to air missiles , with the 150km range of the Chinese PL-15 outperforming the 105km range of the AIM-120C deployed by the F-35.
Both aircraft are set to receive new longer ranged air to air missiles in the near future, including the ramjet powered PL-12D for the J-20 and AIM-120D for the F-35 - with the Chinese platform agains expected to have a slight advantage over its American counterpart. The AIM-120D is currently deployed exclusively by the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptors, and a variant compatible with the F-35’s smaller weapons bays has yet to enter service.
Other than the advantages of its missile armament, the J-20 also complements this with a considerably heavier Type 1475 active electronically scanned radar. While this is not thought to be more sophisticated than the F-35’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81, by virtue of its far larger size it is considerably more powerful - an advantage common for heavy twin engine fighters over their lighter single engine counterparts. The J-20’s flight performance is also considerably ahead of the F-35, with the ability to exceed Mach 2.2 and reach altitudes of 20km or more where the F-35 is restricted to a low speed of Mach 1.6 and 15.5km altitude.
This allows the J-20 to impart considerably more energy to its missiles upon launch, with major altitude and speed advantages providing it with a significant edge over the American fighter. While the aircraft are currently comparable in their manoeuvrability, J-20 fighters will begin to integrate the WS-15 engine from the early 2020s providing an expected 40% more thrust and making it far more manoeuvrable. This combined with possible induction of thrust vectoring engines, either two dimensional like the F-22 Raptor or three dimensional like the Su-35, will provide it with a considerable survivability and manoeuvrability advantage.
While the two aircraft are peers at the cutting edge of fifth generation technology, both fielding advanced technologies which the older F-22 lacks, the very different roles of the twin and single engine fighters means that the F-35 is a far from ideal platform to counter its heavier and far more specialised Chinese rival. Indeed, the F-35’s only signifiant advantage appears to be its marginally superior radar cross section reducing profile - with both fighters less stealthy than the F-22 but moreso than the Russian Su-57 placing them in a comparable range of stealth profiles.
Ultimately the F-35’s deployment to East Asia can provide a symbolic counter to the J-20, and with both aircraft being high end stealth fighters with next generation capabilities the important distinction between single and twin engine platforms, multirole and air superiority designs and the resulting discrepancy in their capabilities, there may be a tendency among both analysts and officials to equate them. With the F-35 outmatched by the J-20 however, and the F-22 limited in its ability to counter its direct Chinese counterpart due to its limited numbers, high maintenance and difficulty incorporating upgrades.
the U.S. Air Force will likely need to wait until the mid-late 2020s when its first sixth generation air superiority fighters are developed - platforms currently in the works and designed largely with countering the J-20 and other advanced PLA platforms such as the Su-35 and J-11D in mind. Until then however, the options for countering the fast growing numbers of J-20 fighters deployed by the PLA remain highly limited.
#Gm
Courtesy _Military Watch
The rapid modernisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and of the aerial warfare assets of other branches of the country’s armed forces has brought about a shift in the balance of power over the skies of the Asia-Pacific which has been viewed highly unfavourable by the United States and its Western partners, which previously retained undisputed military dominance of the region. Alongside acquisition of state of the art air defence platforms such as the S-400 with advanced counter-stealth capabilities and a series of increasingly capable anti aircraft missiles such as the PL-15, perhaps the most symbolic acquisition representing China’s emergence as a peer competitor to the U.S. in terms of the quality of its aerial warfare assets is the induction of the country’s first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, into service in 2017.
The J-20 is a twin engine fifth generation air superiority fighter - fulfilling an analogous role to the American F-22 Raptor in U.S. service - and is the first and only fighter of its generation to be successfully developed outside the United States. The fighter combines the benefits of a high end air superiority airframe - namely a heavy and powerful radar and high speed, manoeuvrability, operational altitude and weapons payload - with the strengths of fifth generation technologies - foremost among which are a radar evading stealth profile and radar absorbent coatings, active electronically scanned array radar systems and next generation electronic warfare and avionics systems.
The J-20 also includes a number of technologies not found on earlier fifth generation designs such as the F-22 including a distributed aperture system for improved situational awareness - with new technologies continuing to be integrated as the rate of production continues to grow.
"J-20 stealth air superiority fighter "
While the most direct analogue to the J-20 is the F-22, by far the most capable Western fighter ever designed for air to air combat, America's Raptor fleet cannot be relied on to maintain a balance of power favourable to U.S. interests in the Pacific. Production of the fighters was terminated prematurely in 2009, meeting just 25% of the Air Force’s requirements with just 187 fighters - largely due to the platform’s exceptionally high operational costs and maintenance requirements which made deploying a larger fleet extremely costly to the U.S. Air Force throughout the Raptor’s lifespan. 20 vs. F-35; Is American F-35 can counter J-20 in Pacific ?
The rapid modernisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and of the aerial warfare assets of other branches of the country’s armed forces has brought about a shift in the balance of power over the skies of the Asia-Pacific which has been viewed highly unfavourable by the United States and its Western partners, which previously retained undisputed military dominance of the region. Alongside acquisition of state of the art air defence platforms such as the S-400 with advanced counter-stealth capabilities and a series of increasingly capable anti aircraft missiles such as the PL-15, perhaps the most symbolic acquisition representing China’s emergence as a peer competitor to the U.S. in terms of the quality of its aerial warfare assets is the induction of the country’s first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, into service in 2017.
The J-20 is a twin engine fifth generation air superiority fighter - fulfilling an analogous role to the American F-22 Raptor in U.S. service - and is the first and only fighter of its generation to be successfully developed outside the United States. The fighter combines the benefits of a high end air superiority airframe - namely a heavy and powerful radar and high speed, manoeuvrability, operational altitude and weapons payload - with the strengths of fifth generation technologies - foremost among which are a radar evading stealth profile and radar absorbent coatings, active electronically scanned array radar systems and next generation electronic warfare and avionics systems.
The J-20 also includes a number of technologies not found on earlier fifth generation designs such as the F-22 including a distributed aperture system for improved situational awareness - with new technologies continuing to be integrated as the rate of production continues to grow.
"J-20 stealth air superiority fighter " While the most direct analogue to the J-20 is the F-22, by far the most capable Western fighter ever designed for air to air combat, America's Raptor fleet cannot be relied on to maintain a balance of power favourable to U.S. interests in the Pacific. Production of the fighters was terminated prematurely in 2009, meeting just 25% of the Air Force’s requirements with just 187 fighters - largely due to the platform’s exceptionally high operational costs and maintenance requirements which made deploying a larger fleet extremely costly to the U.S. Air Force throughout the Raptor’s lifespan. Furthermore, unlike the J-20, the Raptor was first produced in the 1990s and retains computer architecture from the time, which combined with the closing of production lines makes the fighter difficult to upgrade - whether with new missiles to match the range of updated Chinese designs or with new electronic warfare systems and countermeasures. The fact that there is no carrier variant of the Raptor, with this program also having been cancelled due to the extreme projected costs further limited the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy the fifth generation fighters to the Asia-Pacific or demonstrate its power by sailing the fighters near potential hotspots on a carrier strike group.
"F-22 and F-35" As a result of the limitations of the F-22 to balance China’s fast growing J-20 fleet, the U.S. resorted to deploying its F-35 single engine lightweight multirole fighters to Northeast Asia to prevent the PLA from gaining an overwhelming advantage in the field. Plans include deployments of the Air Force's F-35A, Marine Corps' F-35B and Navy's F-35C - with deployments centring around a large contingent stationed in Japan. According to a statement by head of the Pacific Air Forces U.S. General Charles Brown in early May 2019, this was precisely the purpose of additional F-35 deployments - to “push back” against PLA deployments of the J-20. Alluding to the Chinese J-20 program and H-20 stealth bomber program, both intended to engage near peer adversaries such as the U.S. Military, the General stated: “they’ll continue to push the envelop to figure out does anybody say or do anything - if you don’t push back it’ll keep coming.” He thus stated that he expected the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific to have 200 F-35s operating in the Pacific by 2025 - with Japan’s armed forces planning over 100 F-35A and 42 F-35B fighters and South Korea planning a further 60 - the latter which would place these squadrons under direct U.S. command in the event of a war in the region. Further sporadic deployments on aircraft carriers can quickly reinforce these assets, with the Wasp and American Class ships capable of operating 20 F-35B fighters each and the larger Nimitz and Gerald Ford Class supercarriers set to deploy around 40 F-35C fighters each. American supercarriers are able to theoretically accommodate 70 stealth fighters in five or more squadrons alongside supporting E-2 Hawkeye AWACS platforms,and could increase the numbers of stealth jets under U.S. command in the region significantly on short notice.
Unlike the F-22, which cannot be manufactured in larger numbers making a numerical advantage for the J-20 inevitable, the F-35 is set to be manufactured for decades to come on a far larger scale than the Raptor - allowing the U.S. to potentially deploy the newer stealth jets to East Asia to keep up with or even try to surpass Chinese deployments of its own stealth jets. Furthermore, like the J-20 but unlike the Raptor, the F-35 can be upgraded incrementally with little difficulty to integrate new systems allowing it to better keep pace with the Chinese platform - with modern computer architecture and integration of a number of advanced systems the Raptor lacks. While it benefits from being the only Western fifth generation fighter in production however, the F-35 is far from the ideal platform to counter the J-20 given its design, specifications and intended role which differs markedly from both the Chinese jet and the Raptor.
A comparison of the F-35 and the J-20 reveals a significant discrepancy in their performance in aerial combat - in line with the starkly different roles for which they were designed. The estimated loaded weight of the J-20 is 45% higher than the F-35, and with a considerably longer range and double the air to air missile payload of the lighter American jet. The J-20 also retains an advantage in the performance of its air to air missiles , with the 150km range of the Chinese PL-15 outperforming the 105km range of the AIM-120C deployed by the F-35.
Both aircraft are set to receive new longer ranged air to air missiles in the near future, including the ramjet powered PL-12D for the J-20 and AIM-120D for the F-35 - with the Chinese platform agains expected to have a slight advantage over its American counterpart. The AIM-120D is currently deployed exclusively by the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptors, and a variant compatible with the F-35’s smaller weapons bays has yet to enter service.
Other than the advantages of its missile armament, the J-20 also complements this with a considerably heavier Type 1475 active electronically scanned radar. While this is not thought to be more sophisticated than the F-35’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81, by virtue of its far larger size it is considerably more powerful - an advantage common for heavy twin engine fighters over their lighter single engine counterparts. The J-20’s flight performance is also considerably ahead of the F-35, with the ability to exceed Mach 2.2 and reach altitudes of 20km or more where the F-35 is restricted to a low speed of Mach 1.6 and 15.5km altitude.
This allows the J-20 to impart considerably more energy to its missiles upon launch, with major altitude and speed advantages providing it with a significant edge over the American fighter. While the aircraft are currently comparable in their manoeuvrability, J-20 fighters will begin to integrate the WS-15 engine from the early 2020s providing an expected 40% more thrust and making it far more manoeuvrable. This combined with possible induction of thrust vectoring engines, either two dimensional like the F-22 Raptor or three dimensional like the Su-35, will provide it with a considerable survivability and manoeuvrability advantage.
While the two aircraft are peers at the cutting edge of fifth generation technology, both fielding advanced technologies which the older F-22 lacks, the very different roles of the twin and single engine fighters means that the F-35 is a far from ideal platform to counter its heavier and far more specialised Chinese rival. Indeed, the F-35’s only signifiant advantage appears to be its marginally superior radar cross section reducing profile - with both fighters less stealthy than the F-22 but moreso than the Russian Su-57 placing them in a comparable range of stealth profiles.
Ultimately the F-35’s deployment to East Asia can provide a symbolic counter to the J-20, and with both aircraft being high end stealth fighters with next generation capabilities the important distinction between single and twin engine platforms, multirole and air superiority designs and the resulting discrepancy in their capabilities, there may be a tendency among both analysts and officials to equate them. With the F-35 outmatched by the J-20 however, and the F-22 limited in its ability to counter its direct Chinese counterpart due to its limited numbers, high maintenance and difficulty incorporating upgrades.
the U.S. Air Force will likely need to wait until the mid-late 2020s when its first sixth generation air superiority fighters are developed - platforms currently in the works and designed largely with countering the J-20 and other advanced PLA platforms such as the Su-35 and J-11D in mind. Until then however, the options for countering the fast growing numbers of J-20 fighters deployed by the PLA remain highly limited.
#Gm
Courtesy _Military WatchFurthermore, unlike the J-20, the Raptor was first produced in the 1990s and retains computer architecture from the time, which combined with the closing of production lines makes the fighter difficult to upgrade - whether with new missiles to match the range of updated Chinese designs or with new electronic warfare systems and countermeasures. The fact that there is no carrier variant of the Raptor, with this program also having been cancelled due to the extreme projected costs further limited the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy the fifth generation fighters to the Asia-Pacific or demonstrate its power by sailing the fighters near potential hotspots on a carrier strike group.
"F-22 and F-35"
As a result of the limitations of the F-22 to balance China’s fast growing J-20 fleet, the U.S. resorted to deploying its F-35 single engine lightweight multirole fighters to Northeast Asia to prevent the PLA from gaining an overwhelming advantage in the field. Plans include deployments of the Air Force's F-35A, Marine Corps' F-35B and Navy's F-35C - with deployments centring around a large contingent stationed in Japan. According to a statement by head of the Pacific Air Forces U.S. General Charles Brown in early May 2019, this was precisely the purpose of additional F-35 deployments - to “push back” against PLA deployments of the J-20. Alluding to the Chinese J-20 program and H-20 stealth bomber program, both intended to engage near peer adversaries such as the U.S. Military, the General stated: “they’ll continue to push the envelop to figure out does anybody say or do anything - if you don’t push back it’ll keep coming.” He thus stated that he expected the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific to have 200 F-35s operating in the Pacific by 2025 - with Japan’s armed forces planning over 100 F-35A and 42 F-35B fighters and South Korea planning a further 60 - the latter which would place these squadrons under direct U.S. command in the event of a war in the region. Further sporadic deployments on aircraft carriers can quickly reinforce these assets, with the Wasp and American Class ships capable of operating 20 F-35B fighters each and the larger Nimitz and Gerald Ford Class supercarriers set to deploy around 40 F-35C fighters each. American supercarriers are able to theoretically accommodate 70 stealth fighters in five or more squadrons alongside supporting E-2 Hawkeye AWACS platforms,and could increase the numbers of stealth jets under U.S. command in the region significantly on short notice.
Unlike the F-22, which cannot be manufactured in larger numbers making a numerical advantage for the J-20 inevitable, the F-35 is set to be manufactured for decades to come on a far larger scale than the Raptor - allowing the U.S. to potentially deploy the newer stealth jets to East Asia to keep up with or even try to surpass Chinese deployments of its own stealth jets. Furthermore, like the J-20 but unlike the Raptor, the F-35 can be upgraded incrementally with little difficulty to integrate new systems allowing it to better keep pace with the Chinese platform - with modern computer architecture and integration of a number of advanced systems the Raptor lacks. While it benefits from being the only Western fifth generation fighter in production however, the F-35 is far from the ideal platform to counter the J-20 given its design, specifications and intended role which differs markedly from both the Chinese jet and the Raptor.
A comparison of the F-35 and the J-20 reveals a significant discrepancy in their performance in aerial combat - in line with the starkly different roles for which they were designed. The estimated loaded weight of the J-20 is 45% higher than the F-35, and with a considerably longer range and double the air to air missile payload of the lighter American jet. The J-20 also retains an advantage in the performance of its air to air missiles , with the 150km range of the Chinese PL-15 outperforming the 105km range of the AIM-120C deployed by the F-35.
Both aircraft are set to receive new longer ranged air to air missiles in the near future, including the ramjet powered PL-12D for the J-20 and AIM-120D for the F-35 - with the Chinese platform agains expected to have a slight advantage over its American counterpart. The AIM-120D is currently deployed exclusively by the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptors, and a variant compatible with the F-35’s smaller weapons bays has yet to enter service.
Other than the advantages of its missile armament, the J-20 also complements this with a considerably heavier Type 1475 active electronically scanned radar. While this is not thought to be more sophisticated than the F-35’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81, by virtue of its far larger size it is considerably more powerful - an advantage common for heavy twin engine fighters over their lighter single engine counterparts. The J-20’s flight performance is also considerably ahead of the F-35, with the ability to exceed Mach 2.2 and reach altitudes of 20km or more where the F-35 is restricted to a low speed of Mach 1.6 and 15.5km altitude.
This allows the J-20 to impart considerably more energy to its missiles upon launch, with major altitude and speed advantages providing it with a significant edge over the American fighter. While the aircraft are currently comparable in their manoeuvrability, J-20 fighters will begin to integrate the WS-15 engine from the early 2020s providing an expected 40% more thrust and making it far more manoeuvrable. This combined with possible induction of thrust vectoring engines, either two dimensional like the F-22 Raptor or three dimensional like the Su-35, will provide it with a considerable survivability and manoeuvrability advantage.
While the two aircraft are peers at the cutting edge of fifth generation technology, both fielding advanced technologies which the older F-22 lacks, the very different roles of the twin and single engine fighters means that the F-35 is a far from ideal platform to counter its heavier and far more specialised Chinese rival. Indeed, the F-35’s only signifiant advantage appears to be its marginally superior radar cross section reducing profile - with both fighters less stealthy than the F-22 but moreso than the Russian Su-57 placing them in a comparable range of stealth profiles.
Ultimately the F-35’s deployment to East Asia can provide a symbolic counter to the J-20, and with both aircraft being high end stealth fighters with next generation capabilities the important distinction between single and twin engine platforms, multirole and air superiority designs and the resulting discrepancy in their capabilities, there may be a tendency among both analysts and officials to equate them. With the F-35 outmatched by the J-20 however, and the F-22 limited in its ability to counter its direct Chinese counterpart due to its limited numbers, high maintenance and difficulty incorporating upgrades.
the U.S. Air Force will likely need to wait until the mid-late 2020s when its first sixth generation air superiority fighters are developed - platforms currently in the works and designed largely with countering the J-20 and other advanced PLA platforms such as the Su-35 and J-11D in mind. Until then however, the options for countering the fast growing numbers of J-20 fighters deployed by the PLA remain highly limited.
#Gm
Courtesy _Military Watch
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