Chengdu J-20 5th Generation Aircraft News & Discussions

[ChillVein]

Yes, but they simply don't want or cannot understand ... in case someone is interested!

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Only indians are delusional and retarded enough to compare themselves with China

 

[Ali_Baba]

China does not need J-20s to deal with the Indians. They're just there for just in case F-35s show up. The J-10s and J-11 are more than enough to shoot down everything the Indians have.

True - but if the opportunity arises, why not use it to train the best in the PLAAF with combat experience ?

 

[Deino]

Do you remember the images released showing J-11 and a J-16 at the PLAAF engineering academy posted a few weeks ago? … there is also the rarely seen J-20 prototype no. 2004 - aka the renumbered no. 2002 - in the middle of the lineup.

 

[Beijingwalker]

First J-20 Stealth Fighter Delivered to China’s Air Force Engineering University: Expanding Fleet Increases Need for Skilled Ground Crews​

August-1st-2026

J-20 Fighter with J-16s in the Background

A J-20 fifth generation fighter prototype has for the first time been delivered to the Aviation Maintenance NCO School under the Air Force Engineering University, where it will be used to train future aircraft maintenance personnel. The aircraft, carrying the serial number 2004, is among the original prototypes developed for the fighter’s flight test program, marking the transition of a historically significant airframe from developmental testing to technical education. Photographs from the school show the prototype displayed alongside a J-7 fighter, with both aircraft now serving as hands-on instructional platforms for ground crew training.

Two technology demonstrators were built for the J-20 program before it reached prototype stages, including the aircraft designated ‘2001,’ which made the program’s first flight in January 2011, and ‘2002’ which appeared 16 months later in May 2012. After the two were transferred from Chengdu to the China Flight Test Establishment at Xi’an, the ‘2002’ airframe was renumbered ‘2004’ and used for initial testing of a unique side bay missile launch system for PL-10 visual-range air-to-air missiles. Some reports indicate it may have also integrated a radar. The J-20 program progressed from first flight to operational service in approximately six years, compared to roughly fifteen years for both the American F-22 and F-35, with incremental improvements between test airframes having been significant, bringing the type closer to its serial production standard before the first serial airframes were delivered to the Air Force in 2016.

The transfer provides a rare opportunity to examine the earliest configuration of the J-20, with the two demonstrators having different significantly from production fighters. They were finished in a distinctive black paint scheme rather than the low-observable grey camouflage used today, retained an untrimmed vertical tail, featured a nose-mounted flight-test pitot tube, employed a frameless canopy, and were powered by Russian-built AL-31FM2 turbofan engines. These aircraft were intended exclusively for developmental flight testing and incorporated numerous experimental features that would later be refined or discarded.

Subsequent Batch 01 prototypes, identified by 201X serial numbers, introduced many of the changes that shaped the fighter’s final production configuration. Among the most visible modifications were vertical stabilisers enlarged by approximately 15 percent before being clipped into their now-familiar shape, while the wing actuators and ventral fins were substantially reduced in size to improve aerodynamic performance and reduce radar observability. These refinements reflected the rapid maturation of the design as testing progressed toward serial production.

The J-20 has undergone continuous evolution since entering production. Aircraft entering service from 2021 used indigenous WS-10C engines facilitating significantly improved flight performances, while the latest J-20A variant has introduced the more powerful WS-15 next generation engines providing the type with the highest thrust in the world. Incremental improvements between batches, continued improvements to avionics, and the reported recent integration of an entirely new radar, have helped to widen the fighter type’s advantages over rival fighters developed abroad. The J-20 is today considered in a league of its own in terms of sophistication alongside its lighter counterpart, the J-35, and the U.S. F-35.

Prototype of China`s Ultra-Long Range Sixth Generation Fighter Developed to Succeed the J-20

The decision to transfer prototype 2004 to a maintenance training institution reflects the increasing maturity of the J-20 program. Rather than preserving early prototypes solely as museum exhibits, the Air Force is using them to familiarise future technicians with stealth aircraft construction, maintenance procedures, and systems architecture. This approach may be influenced by the fast growing size of China’s fifth generation fighter fleet, which increasingly requires large numbers of highly trained maintenance personnel to sustain operations. The J-20 is currently being produced on a much larger scale by the Air Force than any other fighter type is by any other service in the world, with procurements estimated at close to 120 per year, compared to only 24-40 F-35s being procured annually by the U.S. Air Force. This is despite the F-35 being a much smaller single engine design.

First J-20 Stealth Fighter Delivered to China’s Air Force Engineering University: Expanding Fleet Increases Need for Skilled Ground Crews

A J-20 fifth generation fighter prototype has for the first time been delivered to the Aviation Maintenance NCO School under the Air Force Engineering University, where

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