China's Two-Seat J-20S Will Control Drones and Hunt Aircraft Carriers

By Kris Osborn, Warrior

The arrival of a twin-seat J-20S “Mighty Dragon” seems to suggest that the People’s Liberation Army - Air Force is intensely pursuing manned-unmanned teaming and the “loyal wingman” strategies employed by the United States, aerial command and control target and potential “carrier killer” missions from the sky. 

By adding an F-14-like “aviator” seat, the J-20S will likely operate as an aerial command and control node in the sky, able to direct drone attacks and network key data across multiple domains in a manner similar to the F-47, F-22, and F-35.

US Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft are already airborne, and the Pentagon has long maintained that its 6th-generation stealth fighter will be a “family of systems.” Sure enough, the emerging F-47 is expected to operate many drones from the cockpit to test enemy air defenses, blanket areas with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and even fire weapons when directed by a human. It seems entirely feasible that the PLA intends a similar operational capacity for its two-seat J-20S, as it could enable an “aviator” to focus on sensing, targeting, command and control and air-to-surface attack. 

Hunting Carriers

The J-20 is longer than an F-22 and can operate in a “bomb-truck” like capacity, so it could potentially fire hypersonic weapons and a range of air-to-surface weapons designed to attack warships such as U.S. Navy carriers. There is yet another dimension to the threat posed by the two-seat J-20S and it relates to aerial missile attack, sensing technology, carrier “hunting” and the possible integration of hypersonics.  With an “S” variant including a pilot and aviator working collaboratively, longer range air-and-surface targets such as U.S. Carrier Strike Groups might be detected and attacked more easily.

J-20 AESA Radar

Detection range figures prominently in this equation, and the J-20 AESA radar appears to be configured with long range detection technology sufficient to potentially “see” enemy aircraft and warships from greater standoff distances. 

This might be the case because the J-20 operates with a larger nose radome able to accommodate a large number of densely packaged transit-receive (T&R) modules. Academic research establishes a clear, linear relationship between T/R modules and radar effectiveness.A 2025 academic essay published by the Pentagon’s National Defense University’s Air University cites evidence that the J-20 AESA radar could be more powerful and longer range than its US equivalents.

“According to a 2016 essay in Sina Military News, the J-20 radar achieves 50-percent more power than the F-22 and reaches a comparatively longer detection range.  The essay further establishes a direct and clear connection between T/R modules and detection distance; ‘it can be seen that the number of T/R modules directly determines the size of the transmission power and the distance of the detection distance … the TR module is equivalent to a relay station and signal amplifier.’”

The presence of a longer-range or more powerful AESA radar does not mean a J-20 would prevail in an engagement with an F-22 or F-35, as there are many components to air superiority, yet it would suggest a “counter-interventionist” operational concept. This concept can also work in a purely offensive capacity, as it could potentially enable long-range air-to-surface attack on U.S. carriers, should the J-20 AESA radar generate high-fidelity images from stand-off ranges. 

J-20S Air-to-Surface Attack

Perhaps the PLA sees the J-20S as a key command and control, drone-controlling aerial node fighter able to defend the perimeter of mainland China and “see” and “attack” incoming threats from further stand-off range. A key concept here would be for the PLA AF to attempt to attack from distances where it would be more difficult for ship-based Aegis radar to “see.” 

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University