Chengdu J - 20 The Chengdu J - 20 ( Jian - 20 ; ) is a fifth - generation , stealth , twin - engine fighter aircraft prototype being developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Air Force ( PLAAF ) . The J - 20 made its first flight on 11 January 2011 . General He Weirong , Deputy Commander of the People ' s Liberation Army Air Force said in November 2009 that he expected the J - 20 to be operational in 2017 – 2019 . The PLAAF designates the J - 20 as " Project 718 " . The general designer of the aircraft is reportedly Yang Wei , who was the general designer of CAC / PAC JF - 17 Thunder . Development . Origin . In 2002 , " Jane ' s Defence Weekly " reported that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation had been selected to head research and development of the new fighter , a claim repeated in " New Scientist " the same week . However , a 2006 article in " Military Technology " referred to three designs ; two by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and one by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation . According to the report from " Jane ' s " , development of the subsystems , including the engine and weapon suite for the next generation fighter , has been under way for some time . A photograph of a wind tunnel model published with the article showed a twin - engine aircraft with twin vertical tail fins . The article text mentioned that the aircraft would carry its weapons internally like the F - 22 Raptor . " New Scientist " called attention to the angular , faceted features of the design , comparing them to the F - 117 Nighthawk . " Jane ' s " also linked the programme with China ' s development of an engine with thrust vectoring capability . The later report in " Military Technology " featured a picture of a completely different design , speculatively dubbed J - 14 and said to be a Shenyang project , with the designations J - 12 and J - 13 being applied to ( possibly competing ) designs by Shenyang and Chengdu respectively . John Pike has written that China probably declined to participate in joint development and production of a new fifth - generation fighter with Russia given the belief that Russia stood to gain more from Chinese participation . Chinese leaders may have determined that their design was superior to the Russian PAK FA . Since 2009 , Chinese internet comments have repeatedly pointed to a merging of the two efforts , to be named J - 14 . Chengdu is rumored to be responsible for the airframe , while Shenyang focuses on the engines and other components . It was then revealed that Chengdu proposal won PLAAF ' s endorsement in a 2008 competition against a Shenyang proposal , with the latter reportedly being even larger than J - 20 . In November 2009 He Weirong ( 何为荣 ) , deputy commander of the Chinese air force , confirmed that " intense " research and development work on the fifth generation stealth fighter was ongoing . He expected the aircraft to be unveiled soon and gave possible in - service dates of 2017 to 2019 . Flight testing . On 22 December 2010 , the J - 20 underwent high speed taxiing tests outside the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute . The J - 20 made its first flight , lasting about 15 minutes , on 11 January 2011 . A Chengdu J - 10S served as the chase aircraft . China thus became the third nation in the world to " develop and test - fly a full - size stealth combat aircraft demonstrator " , after the United States and Russia . After the successful first flight , a ceremony was held . The test pilot of the J - 20 , Li Gang , Chief designer Yang Wei and General Li Andong ( Deputy - Director of General Armaments Department , and Director of Science and Technology Commission of General Armaments Department of the PLA since 2000 ) attended the ceremony . The jet began making test flights again on 12 November after a month long break from flying . A second test flight of an hour and twenty minutes took place on 17 April 2011 . In late October 2012 , photographs of what believed to be a new prototype emerged . This aircraft features a different radome , speculated to house an AESA radar . Pictures of J - 20 testing its side weapon bays began to surface in late March 2013 . Early pictures first revealed a missile launch rail being extended out of the right - side of the aircraft . A few days later , new photographs showed a mock - up of an unidentified missile installed on the launcher . Technology transfer allegations . While no specific analysts have claimed the J - 20 used stealth coatings from the 1999 F - 117 downed over Serbia , analysts have noted that if Chinese designers used stealth coatings based on the F - 117 , the result would be decades behind current American state - of - the - art . However , Chinese test pilot Xu Yongling said that the J - 20 was a masterpiece of home - grown innovation , and also noted the F - 117 technology was already outdated even at the time it was shot down , and could not be applied to a next - generation stealth jet . " Janes " editor James Hardy agrees that it was unlikely China would have learned much from the wreckage . Information used by subcontractors of Lockheed Martin for the F - 35 project has been significantly compromised during development of the J - 20 . As a result , there are accusations that the J - 20 design may have been based on cyber - espionage of the Lockheed Martin FB - 22 and F - 35 projects . A United States federal prosecutor has suggested that China may have used technology supplied by Noshir Gowadia from the Northrop Grumman B - 2 Spirit program for their stealth aircraft . Douglas Barrie has noted that the canard - delta configuration with canted vertical fins appears to resemble the MiG 1 . 42 . Yet , Barrie notes that key differences include greater forward fuselage shaping as the basis for low observable characteristics , along with the different engine intake configuration . Despite the similar basic configurations between the aircraft noted by Russian sources , MiG spokeswoman Yelena Fyodorova has denied that any of the MiG Project 1 . 44 materials had been provided to China . The basic configuration of the J - 20 also resembles a wind tunnel model of the Chengdu J - 9 , showing Chengdu has been working on the design for over 40 years . Design . Characteristics . The J - 20 has a long and wide fuselage , with the chiseled nose section and a frameless canopy resembling the F - 22 Raptor . Immediately behind the cockpit are low observable intakes mounted with a pair of upturned canards . They are followed by leading edge extension and a diamond wing . The aft section of J - 20 features canted all - moving fins resembling those on F - 35 and conventional round engine exhausts . An estimation using ground support vehicle as a reference shown the aircraft ' s length to be around 19 to 20 meters , slightly shorter than the length of a Flanker . In January 2013 , a satellite picture taken over an airport at Xi ' an showed J - 20 to have similar length as a J - 15 / Su - 33 . Song Wencong , the chief engineer of Chengdu Aircraft Industry , published a paper describing flight dynamics of the J - 20 . The paper cites high instability as an important design criteria in a fifth generation fighter . This necessitates good pitch - authority at high angle - of - attack , which cannot be provided by a tailplane due to its ineffectiveness at such flight profile . Hence , a decision was taken to employ a canard layout . An all - moving canard like the one on J - 20 is capable of deflecting at the same magnitude but opposite sign to the angle - of - attack , thereby maintaining stability and control . A canard delta offers greater efficiency in both subsonic and supersonic flight . Song Wencong ' s paper further explains the combination of canard , leading - edge extension , and body lift for enhancing performance in a canard layout . According to a diagram attached to the paper , the J - 20 ' s configuration is able to generate 1 . 2 times the lift than an ordinary canard delta , and 1 . 8 times more lift than an aircraft that purely relies on wing for lift . This permits the use of small aspect - ratio wing , reducing supersonic drag without compromising transonic lift - to - drag characteristics that are crucial to the aircraft ' s turn performance . The J - 20 may become the first operational combat aircraft that carries sufficient fuel to supercruise throughout its missions , doubling its sortie rate . Engines . The prototype ' s engine is unknown , but is speculated to be either a AL - 31 derivative or a version of the domestic WS - 10 . Western analysts believe that China is still working on a domestic turbofan engine to power the J - 20 and will continue to use Russian engines for the aircraft for the time being . There have also been claims that China is seeking the AL - 31 117S engine through Su - 35 purchase . In response to such claims , China denied any deal of the Su - 35 . At the 2012 Zhuhai air show , Russia approached China with its 117S engine in an unsolicited yet unsuccessful attempt to sell Su - 35 . The J - 20 ' s intended engine is speculated to be the WS - 15 , a turbofan engine producing 18 tons of thrust in development since the early 1990s . According to Global Security , the engine core , composed of high pressure compressors , the combustion chamber , and high pressure turbines were successfully tested in 2005 . An image of the core appeared in the 2006 Zhuhai Airshow . In late 2012 , China announced a $ 24 billion investment program to catch up in the field of military turbofans . At the end of 2012 , the Aviation Industry Corporation of China ( AVIC ) announced several breakthroughs in producing alloys for engine turbines , reaching standards used by leading global engine manufacturers . Avionics . Official information on J - 20 ' s avionics is not publicly available . Examination of J - 20 pictures revealed two small dark diamond shaped windows on both sides of the nose , which could house certain electro - optical sensors , such as a Missile Approach Warning System ( MAWS ) or an Infra - Red Search and Track ( IRST ) system . Windows similar to those in the Electro - Optical Distributed Aperture System ( EODAS ) onboard American F - 35 can be found underneath the aft fuselage and on the fuselage above the canard . The J - 20 is speculated to feature an advanced fly - by - wire ( FBW ) system that is integrated with the fire - control and the engine systems . China is known to have developed and deployed AESA radars on board its KJ - 200 and KJ - 2000 aircraft . In December 2012 , new photographs emerged showing a J - 20 prototype with a revised radome speculated to carry an AESA radar . As of January 2013 , analysts expect the fire - control radar to be the Type 1475 or KLJ5 Active Electronically Scanned Array ( AESA ) , roughly comparable in performance to the APG - 77 . Cockpit . The aircraft features a pure glass cockpit , with two large color liquid crystal display s ( LCD ) situated side - by - side and three smaller ones in the surrounding . A wide - angle holographic head - up display ( HUD ) can be seen from close - up photos of J - 20 ' s cockpit . Many of these subsystems have been tested onboard J - 10B s to speed up the development . Armament . The J - 20 has a large belly weapon bay for short / long - range air - to - air missile s ( AAM ) ( PL - 10 , PL - 12 C / D & PL - 21 ) and two smaller lateral weapon bays behind the air inlets for short - range AAMs ( PL - 10 ) . One photo depicts the same air - to - air loadout as the F - 22 , that is six medium range and two short range air - to - air missiles . In March 2013 . A J - 20 prototype is shown in a video armed with air to air missile similar to the F - 22A . And in July 2013 a photo was released showing the hinged doors of the main bay open in flight . Stealth . Analysts noted that J - 20 uses similar stealth shaping design as the F - 22 and F - 35 , providing good stealth capability at the front . However , these analysts also claimed the aircraft ' s side and axi - symmetric nozzles may expose the aircraft to radar detection . However , one of the prototypes uses WS - 10G engines with stealthy jagged - edge nozzles and tiles . Richard Aboulafia raised general doubts about the use of canards on a low - observable design , saying " there ’ s no better way of guaranteeing a radar reflection and compromise of stealth " . However , canards and low - observability are not mutually exclusive design features . Northrop ' s proposal for the Naval Advanced Tactical Fighter ( ATF ) , termed NATF - 23 , incorporated canard on a stealthy airframe . Lockheed Martin employed canards on a stealth airframe in the Joint Advanced Strike Technology ( JAST ) program , ending development only due to unexpected operational issues surrounding the flight control of Eurofighter and Saab Gripen . McDonnell Douglas and NASA ' s X - 36 featured the use of canards and was shown to be extremely stealthy . The Eurofighter managed to reduce its Radar Cross Section ( RCS ) by controlling the deflection of its canards through the flight control software . The diverterless supersonic inlet ( DSI ) improves stealth performance by eliminating unwanted radar reflections between the traditional diverter and the aircraft ' s skin . As of January 2013 , analysts have also noted that the J - 20 DSI reduces the need for application of radar absorbent materials . Additionally , the " bump " surface reduces the engine fan ' s exposure to radar , significantly reducing the strongest radar reflection from a combat jet . While the diverterless supersonic inlet ( DSI ) intakes are easier to maintain than more complex stealth - compatible intakes , such as on the F - 22 , their fixed form limits the aircraft to around Mach 2 . 0 . The J - 20 also features the use of a missile deployment device in its side - bays whereby the missile is extracted from the bay before the door is closed behind it . This essentially reduces the need for the doors to open mid - flight which would have exposed the fighter to an opposition radar temporarily , making this feature especially useful in a WVR environment where even the slightest increase in RCS may prove deadly . Political and military implications . Political . The first test flight coincided with a visit of United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to China , and was initially interpreted by Pentagon officials and the media as a possible signal to the visiting delegation from the U . S . However , after meeting with senior Chinese officials including Chinese President , CMC Chairman Hu Jintao , Secretary Gates remarked , " The civilian leadership seemed surprised by the test and assured me it had nothing to do with my visit . " Jin Canrong , a professor at Renmin University in Beijing who specializes in China - U . S . relations , suggested that President Hu ' s ignorance of the test raises questions about the nature of civilian control of the Chinese military . However , as Michael Swaine , an expert on the PLA and United States – China military relations , explained , although it ' s possible and even likely that " senior officials in the [ Chinese ] leadership did not know that this flight test would occur on this precise day , " this is not necessarily evidence of a military - backed effort to insult Secretary Gates ' delegation or embarrass President Hu . Rather , decisions regarding the production , development and testing of such military aircraft are routinely managed by engineers and low - level officials more than by senior civilian or military leadership . Coupled with the fact that there was relatively limited coverage of the event in Chinese media initially , it is likely that the test may not have been considered a significant enough event to warrant notification to President Hu . Military . The U . S . Director of National Intelligence James R . Clapper has testified that the United States has known about the program for a " long time " and that the test flight was not a surprise . On the other hand , a 2012 report by the U . S . ‐ China Economic and Security Review Commission suggests that the United States may have underestimated the speed of development of the J - 20 and several other Chinese military development projects . Robert Gates has questioned how stealthy the J - 20 might be although he did say the development of the J - 20 had the potential to " put some of our capabilities at risk , and we have to pay attention to them , we have to respond appropriately with our own programs . " Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell has said that it was premature to call the J - 20 a stealth fighter or to judge if it had any other fifth - generation characteristics . As early photographs of the prototype surfaced , Bill Sweetman commented that the design may suggest a large , long range ground attack aircraft , not unlike a " stealth version " of the General Dynamics F - 111 Aardvark . However , that assessment is in conflict with the " J " designation which PLAAF has traditionally reserved for its fighters with air superiority mission . Bill Sweetman argues that the J - 20 will be more similar to a MiG - 25 with stealth capability . He says this is the most likely role for such a large aircraft with low thrust to weight ratio and limited agility that is optimized for range and speed . Loren B . Thompson has said that this combination of forward sector only stealth and long range will allow the J - 20 to make attacks on surface targets while the United States lacks sufficient bases for F - 22s in the area to counter these attacks and American allies have no comparable aircraft . Thompson has also said that a long - range maritime strike aircraft may cause the United States more trouble than a shorter range air - superiority fighter like the F - 22 . The Pentagon ' s 2011 report on the Chinese military agrees that the J - 20 is " a platform capable of long range , penetrating strikes into complex air defense environments . " Because the aircraft ' s center of gravity must be within the triangle defined by the landing gear , the J - 20 depends on lift from its canards , which limits its maneuverability to the lifting power of its canards . Hence the J - 20 is not a fighter , but rather a light supersonic bomber . The J - 20 may have lower supercruise speed ( yet greater range ) and less agility than a Lockheed Martin F - 22 Raptor or PAK FA , but might also have larger weapons bays and carry more fuel . Roger Cliff , senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation , states that " What we need is to be able to put 25 jets in the air and take down 75 of theirs , without many losses . But it ’ s just not going to be that one - sided anymore " and " We have become accustomed to a world where our air power is dominant , but that dominance is now in question . " Specifications . Because the aircraft is in development , these specifications are preliminary and are taken as estimates from the available images .