How Would the U.S. Counter the Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter?

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byKris Osborn– Warrior Maven

Could the Chinese J-20 5th generation stealth fighter succeed in destroying crucial U.S. tankers, surveillance planes or airborne command posts? 

The interesting question was posed by a London-based analyst cited in an article from Forbes magazine, raising the idea of whether such a prospect would, in fact, be true. The Forbes article makes the point that U.S. and allied air assets, at a deficit in terms of actual numbers, would rely heavily upon less stealthy surveillance assets such as an E-2D Hawkeye, Triton maritime drone or KC-46 tanker. 

“In wartime, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force likely would sortie J-20s to fly through the clutter of raging air battles along the Chinese coast, in the hope that the Mighty Dragons might punch through to the open air space of the western Pacific Ocean,” the Forbes article states. 

However, could this actually be possible? Most likely not for a range of possible reasons. 

The analyst cited in the article, Justin Bronk with the London-based Royal United Service Institute, makes the point that J-20s would be outmatched in the air by U.S. F-22s deployed to challenge them. 

Bronk writes that the J-20 “is a heavier, less agile aircraft that will be more expensive to build and operate. It also cannot compete with the extreme performance or agility of the F-22.”