China starts mass production of improved J-20 5th generation fighter aircraft

The J-20 fighter, this example without the thrust vectoring capability, conducting flight demonstrations at Airshow China 2016 in Zhuhai. Photo c/o Wikipedia.


China has started mass production of an improved version of their Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" 5th generation fighter aircraft, as confirmed by a Chinese military source associated to the project.

According to the report of South China Morning Post, this was signaled by the unveiling of an improved variant of the J-20 called the J-20B on 15 July 2020, which was attended  by several senior Chinese military leaders, including the second highest official involved in weapons development for the People's Liberation Army (PLA).


Among the major improvements are the introduction of a thrust vectoring capability, which allows improved flight handling and characteristics.
The new J-20B is said to still use Russian-made Saturn AL-31 jet engines as China has failed to complete development of a locally-made engine called the WS-15. According to reports, the WS-15 has not met requirements although Chinese engineers believe it would take one or two more years to complete the engine development.

Only then will the J-20B be fitted with the locally-made engine, which is the ultimate goal of the project.


The Chengdu J-20 is China's attempt to have a fighter that has similar capabilities as America's Boeing F-22A Raptor, and is expected to be ordered in significant numbers by the People's Liberation Army - Air Force (PLAAF) as it increase its modernization phase to replace older generation, obsolete fighter aircraft.

According to reports, Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) currently has a 4 production lines, which has a combined production capability to produce 4 J-20 aircraft a month.


[1] South China Morning Post
[2] Forbes
China starts mass production of improved J-20 5th generation fighter aircraft China starts mass production of improved J-20 5th generation fighter aircraft Reviewed by Asia Pacific Defense Journal on July 16, 2020 Rating: 5

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