Aviation Week & Space Technology - 3 November 2014

anti-radar missile that is also intended
for internal carriage on the T-50.
The side missile bays differ from
those of the F-22 in that the doors can
be closed after the missile rail has been
extended, and have been seen with a
missile—or test shape—with low-as-
pect-ratio wings and folding tails. So far,
no gun has been seen on J-20s, nor has
there been a sign of provision for one.
The J-20 design, therefore, is an
air-to-air fighter with an emphasis on
forward-aspect stealth, efcient high-
speed aerodynamics and range, with a
modest internal payload and more than
adequate agility for self-defense. The
aircraft has considerable potential for

development, because of its currently

unsophisticated engines. But it is also

large and expensive, and continued

development of the J-10B shows that

China plans to maintain a high-low mix

of fighters for a long time to come.

This concept fits very well into an

anti-access/area-denial strategy given

China’s regional geography and the

fact that the nation’s military and geo-

political ambitions are focused on the

China Sea and its surrounding island

chains. The U.S. has committed its

armed forces to concentrate much of

their funding on tactical fighters with

a combat radius of 600 mi., much less

than the distance from their bases to

targets on the Chinese mainland, and

has persuaded its allies to do the same.

As a result, operations are almost

entirely dependent on two groups of

aircraft: tankers and large intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)

aircraft with long endurance. Under

the “distributed control” concept

favored by U.S. Air Force command-

ers as a hedge against electronic

warfare, including cyberattacks, the

ISR aircraft also have a control-and-

communications function. However,

both tankers and ISR aircraft are vul-

nerable to attack, and maintaining a

defensive combat air patrol (CAP) over

them at long range is also difcult.

The J-20’s primary mission, there-

fore, may be to use stealth and speed to

break through the CAP and threaten vi-

tal tankers and ISR platforms. Its range

gives it a “long lance” advantage—if the

tankers, ISR aircraft and escorts have

to stay out of the J-20’s range, the tacti-

cal aircraft that they support will not

have the airborne radar cover or range

needed to reach their targets.

Also, an anti-radar missile would

give the J-20 some capability against

shipping, even with internal weapons.

China’s new CM-400AKG and YJ-12

high-speed antiship missiles will not

fit the J-20’s weapon bays, but could

probably be carried under the wings,

and future internal weapons will in-

crease its ofensive capacity.

In a very broad sense, the J-20 could

turn out to be an analogue to the So-

viet-era Tu-22M2/3 Backfire bomb-

er—an efcient and practical blend of

low-risk technologies that generates

options for its users and difcult prob-

lems for its adversaries. c

AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/NOVEMBER 3/10, 2014 59

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