6th-Gen Stealth Fighter Race: US vs China

By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

It’s a race where the stakes couldn’t be higher – who will be the first country to build a sixth-generation fighter jet, the US or China?

Two reports in the last couple of weeks are giving insight into just how far China has come along.

Writing in The Diplomat, the Asia-Pacific current affairs magazine, longtime Chinese military observer Rick Joe says it’s generally accepted that demonstrator test beds have been flown and that some form of the plane is expected to emerge this decade. Joe writes that one of the likely configurations of the plane would be a tail-less flying wing/flying arrowhead airframe.

Gen. John Murray – Former Army Futures Command Commander

Meanwhile, a Chinese test pilot has been quoted as saying the sixth generation warplane is expected to make its debut soon.

Li Gang, the test pilot in the maiden flight of the J-20 stealth fighter, spoke to China Central TV two weeks ago. “As the technology of our country’s aviation industry continues to develop, the next generation will definitely come out soon,” he said.