China Increases J-20 Mighty Dragon Production as US Surrounds Beijing with F-35, F-22 Stealth Fighters

The PLA's response is to ramp up the production of the J-20 Mighty Dragon to negate the claim of the US Air Force, which can threaten Beijing.

This SCMP verified that the Mighty Dragon would be produced in enough numbers to make the US think twice.

America Deploys F-35s, F-22s

After the US Air Force decided to send its 5th Generation Raptor stealth fighter to the Kadena Air Base in Japan as stand-ins for the older F-15 eagles, reported EurAsian Times.

US Pacific Air Forces have released a statement that the A-variant of the Raptors had arrived at the Kadena base from Alaska last November 4.

A month later, North Korea tested an ICBM, followed by a cadre of A-variant F-35s and four F-16 Fighting Falcons that practiced aerial drills to attack with GBU-12 bomb with laser guidance at simulated NoKor launching structures, noted Twitter.

US regional allies like Seoul and Tokyo have their naval fleet with US stealth fighters. Also, Singapore uses the same plane; Thailand decided to get the same advanced fighter but is waiting.

Beijing has acknowledged something needs to be done to deal with its presence in the Indo-Pacific, the Chinese Military Commission (CMC).

An insider in the military told the outlet how ramping up the manufacture of the J-20 Mighty Dragon should achieve several things. Primarily acts as a counter to F-35s, F-22 that is the fifth generation in the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragon Production

News about new pulsing production lines and locally developed engines have supposedly increased the number of the heavy Chinese stealth fighter, surpassing the Raptor that has stopped production. Lockheed Martin uses the same production line for both US-made stealth fighters, citing Defense PK.

An early estimation of how many Mighty Dragons have been built by China is 200 units. By comparison, Lockheed Martin had 186 Raptor units built when it stopped in 2012.

In the news, its advanced Raptors aren't in operational status many are grounded. It is about to be replaced by the next-generation fighter.

Upgraded versions of the J-20 have appeared as the Chinese are improving them in the last few years to counter any US-5th generation fighter, increasing squadrons of the Chinese stealth fighter to counter any bluster of the USAF in the region.

5th Generation Chinese Stealth Fighter

Since entering service in 2017 with 100 lightning IIs to Japan and Seoul by the US, China has kept a secret about how many J-20s are dispatched. According to PLAAF official senior colonel Chen Jinke, they are all spread out in all commands.

The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) began increasing fighter production in 2020 when it was decided to replace the original Russian engine with the local WS-10C Taihang engines.

In 2022, the Zhuhai Air Show showed off its new vectoring engine. It represents a problem that a better J-20 Mighty Dragon can match the F-35 and F-22 despite claims by the USAF they have surrounded China.

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Tech, Military