two are apparently in the new ‘tactical’
light gray scheme with low-visibility
markings, two wear a striking, all-new
splinter scheme.
Two more aircraft were seen in early
2017 with another camou age pattern,
dubbed the ‘Raptor scheme’ since it
features larger areas of a darker gray. For
the successive LRIP aircraft rolling o the
assembly line at CAC, the PLAAF seems
to have abandoned its previous habit
of showing the individual construction
numbers — clearly visible on the rst
aircraft was the c/n 2101 (later 101). It was
expected that toned-down serials would
be applied in addition to the low-visibility
markings, but most factory-fresh LRIP
J-20As have not shown any numbers at
all. The only exception from was aircraft
c/n 15 spotted in June 2017.Service entry
and a new engine
Contrary to expectations, there was
no o cial handover to the PLAAF, nor
even a service introduction on August
1, 2016 — the PLAAF’s anniversary. This
important milestone was accomplished
without fanfare, when the rst two
J-20As (‘78271’ and ‘78272’) were
handed over on December 12, 2016.
However, the PLAAF did show the world
its rst stealth ghter at the Zhuhai
Airshow in November that year. Two
J-20As performed a relatively restrained
aerial display. More importantly, it was
the type’s debut o cial international
appearance, and the PLAAF proudly
announced it was the second air arm
with a stealth ghter in active service —
after the US Air Force.By the end of 2016 at least four
J-20As had been transferred to
their new home at Dingxin air base,
where 12 new hangars have been
erected since 2015. As expected, the
PLAAF followed usual procedure
by equipping a rst unit with LRIP
J-20As of the current, interim
standard. This occurred much earlier
than expected. The type was clearly
brought into service as quickly as
possible to explore operational tactics
and procedures for the new ghter.
The unit responsible is the 176th
Brigade, which acts as an operational
evaluation (opeval) unit and usually
performs Blue Force aggressor duties
during dissimilar combat exercises.
Uniquely, it also ies the rst serial
J-16s and, probably, J-10Cs.Above: The rst
PLAAF unit to
y the ‘Mighty
Dragon’ is the
176th Brigade
at Dingxin. This
is J-20A ‘78271’,
one of the rst
pair of aircraft to
be handed over.
Below: This
Tupolev Tu-204C
serves as a
dedicated J-20
radar testbed,
in the same way
that a Boeing
757 was adapted
by Northrop
Grumman to test
the radar for the
F-22 Raptor.FIGHTER FOCUS | J20
http://www.combataircraft.net January 201858
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