China J-20 will wash out the U.S. existing Pacific air defense system

Carol Cooper, the Australian defense expert on 9 published an article in the Airpower journal, detailing the Chinese J-20 aircraft performance and the potential strategic impact. The article said that, J-20 fighters of the design features so that it can install different components of electronic equipment and weapons, perform a series of strategic tasks: Remote / continued interception mission, remote air combat and escort missions, the theater attack missions, remote monitoring tasks theater And electronic attack missions as well as anti-satellite weapons launch platform.

China J-20 stealth fighter in test flight

Chinese J-20 fighter able to perform six major strategic task

The article said that both the J-XX (F -20) is a concept demonstrator aircraft, or aircraft production prototype, it proved that Chinese engineers have mastered the advanced stealth design. The machine was designed with the United States had applied to F-22 "Raptor" fighter on the exterior design, but also has some F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the shape of features. F -20 fighter are not familiar with the background of the observers may mistakenly thought it was developed by Lockheed Martin works.

The article points out, the Chengdu Aircraft Company engineers have been able to accurately copy the shape characteristics of U.S. aircraft, possibly because of its high-precision pictures of U.S. planes conducted a reverse analysis. However, it also made some very good questions, such as reverse of this, China has been directly or indirectly, whether in private help.

In the stealth design, body shape design is critical, is the decisive factor in aircraft radar cross section. If the body shape is not well designed – F-35 fighter tail and fuselage design is the lower instance – regardless of the number of radar absorbing materials or coatings, the design can not compensate for the aircraft weight and volume required for the performance issues arising . Conversely, if the body shape design excellence – such as B-2A "ghost" aircraft – then in the life of the radar absorbing material or coating the book gradually improved, the performance will be improved stealth fighter.

By skillfully drawing contemporary American stealth aircraft shape design, the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation’s engineers at the lowest risk and cost to develop a good basic fuselage design, but in the long run, with China, or radar absorbing materials coating, selected frequency radar, radome, and engine nozzle low signal antenna technologies become more sophisticated, stealth design in China there is further potential to improve. This means that in 2025 the production of F -20 fighter derived models, and in 2015, compared with the models body models, more stealth performance.

For the Chinese-made fighter, the stealth properties of powerful shape with the introduction of design, is an unprecedented step forward. Moreover, the planes also created a Chinese-made fighter Another new example: the aircraft fuselage design was intended to make an effective supersonic cruise at high altitude. In addition, the delta F -20 fighter by the bureau and the duck is different from Russia in its "aborted" the MiG MFI design. Supersonic cruise speed means that the machine faster than legacy fighters and surface to air missile, also representing an increase of air to air missiles and smart missile range, and can provide energy in the last war advantage.

On the volume, the F -20 fighter and the U.S. FB-22A bomber recommended specifications similar to the type of theater, which is dedicated bomber, institutions have the intelligence / surveillance / reconnaissance capability, designed for use in more than 1 千 nautical miles combat radius, at supersonic target. F -20 fighter design called the Chinese version of F-22A fighter is meaningless, it is clear, F -20 fighter designed for air combat, delta wing canard is designed to provide sufficient capacity of supersonic flight and supersonic cruise and if the engine is equipped with sufficient thrust, but also provide nearly the speed of sound mobility.
In terms of technology strategy, stealth and super cruise capability performance combination provides a highly lethal and highly viable, super cruise capability can improve the sorties, and its aircraft operations can provide an effective radius of the Cold War era to play F / FB -111 future of US-made warplanes and FB-22 family, the role fighter aircraft. If you can take advantage of delta-wing canard that the aircraft be able to effectively play a F-15C and F-22A fighter role.

Therefore, J-20 fighters perform a series of six strategic tasks executable:

Distance / Continuing interception mission: to this task, the opportunity to be responsible for blocking the F -20 warfare air path into the second island chain, attack incoming aircraft attack aircraft and escort;

Long-range air combat and escort missions: to this task, the F -20 fighting chance by damaging defensive fighter, patrol aircraft, early warning aircraft and other assets, in the open gaps in the enemy air defense, and air refueling operations support.
Theater attack mission: to this task, the F -20 to fight us like F/FB-111, F-15E and FB-22 as the future, the use of guided conventional munitions or free-fall nuclear bombs, attack attack surface targets; fighters to make the volume sufficient to carry weight of 3,000 pounds of ammunition;

Theater remote monitoring tasks: to this task, the F -20 to fight us as the RF-111C / D, RA-5C and F-14/TARPS fighters like collection of radar, image and electronic intelligence, but have the legacy of the F -20 fighter theater reconnaissance stealth performance are not available;

Electronic attack mission: to this task, the F -20 fighting chance to counter enemy radars and communications, the use of aircraft to carry weapons storage jamming equipment, such as EF-111ARaven (Crow) as;

Anti-satellite weapons launch platform: For this task, the F -20 fighting chance of being used for carrying and launching anti-satellite missile, and the 80s of last century by the U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters launched from the Road special company developed the same ASM-135A .

Obviously, F -20 fighter can be used in all cases above, although part of the task-specific or subtype machines currently implemented. The aircraft multi-purpose machines may be no difficulty in changing the implementation of the first three tasks. Diversify the volume of aircraft development, Fuji models.

The article said that the PLA Air Force and PLA Naval Air Force fighter or its variants will the potential to play to what extent, is still unknown. But strategic analysts can not believe in "do not spend a lot of national wealth, the PLA Air Force and PLA Naval Air Force aircraft may not take full advantage of the potential" argument.

F -20 fighter with stealth attacks on U.S. military bases across the second island chain capacity

Can be successfully prevented in Asia there is no long-range super-cruise stealth fighter mature – such as the F-22A Raptor or the export-oriented T-50 or F -20 fighter – the air defense system, U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battle groups do not have this ability.

Currently, the developed Western countries, land-based and shipboard integrated air defense systems rely mainly on S-band radar, as well as relying on a small portion of L-band radar band and UHF. Airborne early warning capabilities as limited, E-3/E-767/APY-2 airborne warning and control system (U.S. Air Force, Japan) for the S-band, E-737 "Wedgetail" / MESA (U.S. Navy, Japan, Singapore) and E-2D/APY-9 (U.S. Navy) for the UHF band.

However, with the APY-2 or the SPY-1 "Aegis" and compared to S-band radar, L band and UHF-MESA and EL/M-2075 band APY-9 radar, the F -20 in the detection, the performance will be even better However, compared with the capture F -20 fighter capture the non-stealth air targets more difficult routine to be much lower.

The introduction of powerful stealth China, the United States and its allies in Western Pacific, the coverage of integrated air defense system will be significantly reduced, with the 1985 F-117A "Nighthawk" fighter appears integrated air defense system of the Warsaw Pact, General goes for experience .

Surface to air missile radar defense system used by war, such as "Patriot" MPQ-53/65 and "Aegis" SPG-62, and most multi-purpose radar, all belong to C / X-band radar, some belonging to Ku-band radar. Semi-active and the TVM guided missile seeker mainly uses the C / X-band, and active radar seeker or more Ku band primarily. Chengdu J–20 in the face of fighters, the effectiveness of these systems will be severely weakened. For the F-22A "Raptor" fighter, in terms of the search radar, missile guidance and other aircraft or missiles Run out in terms of kinetic energy, F -20 fighter interceptor is very challenging.

In Western countries, since 1991, air defense radar and missile research and development focused on two areas, in particular the top of the theater ballistic missile defense (TMD) capability and terminal anti-rocket, artillery and mortars (C-RAM) capability, The observed intercept and destroy high-performance low-level aspects of aircraft and guided munitions have almost no little attention.

On the contrary, since 1991, in the air defense radar and missile development, Russia in two different areas, put a lot of financial and intellectual assets. At the top, using VHF-band technology development and export of anti-stealth radar, and in the end will focus on the development of smart munitions against the Western C-PGM capability. Follow the footsteps of Russia, China, Russia continued use of domestic and imported technology to develop an integrated air defense system capacity.

From a strategic point of view, the most basic level, the mature F -20 effectively eliminated the United States and its allies deployed in the Pacific Rim, and run almost all the infrastructure and integrated air defense systems, air defense fighter formations and weapons stockpiles, and in this way with the F-117A, B-2A and F-22A directly deployed worldwide abandoned Soviet integrated air defense systems, fighter aircraft and other weapon systems is exactly the same way.

In any conflict involving China, a modest fleet of advanced F–20, can attack and destroy the second island chain in the geographic range of any air and surface targets in the process have a lot of freedom. In previous conflicts, the U.S. Air Force B-2A and F-117A stealth fighter was pre-emptive attack to weaken and paralyze each other’s integrated defense systems and command, control, communications and intelligence (C3I) systems, like this pre-emptive attack in any escalating confrontation, or unexpected events, pose a real and serious danger.

In addition, a satellite / inertial guided bombs so powerful load, multi-purpose or attack variants of the F -20 will have crossed the second island chain, United States and its allies paralyzed the power of the airport, the effect is no different from the U.S. Air Force envisaged installed in the F-22A Raptor fighter and the planned installation of the FB-22 fighters on the small-diameter bomb GUB-39/53 as the main role. Similarly, the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier battle group also faces great risk, and to its east-21D anti-ship ballistic missile danger posed bigger.

And terminal stage will pose a challenge to the accuracy and ballistic missile warheads there are limits to the quality of different guided bombs fired from the aircraft very precise and can carry large warheads, it has reinforced concrete or warships through the power of the hull, can carry hundreds of kilograms of high explosive charge load.

Because of the PLA Air Force and Navy already has more than 200 airports – most are semi-curing, some are completely curable, a few are super-hardened and deeply buried type – so the dispersion of F -20 fighter fleet and continued re- placement is feasible deployment strategy, and this in response to pre-emptive air or cruise missile attacks have resulted in real difficulties.

F -20 fighter supersonic cruise capability, and the characteristics of the fuel capacity will allow aircraft to use its deeper inland base in China, so the comparison with the old fighter, the F -20 paralysis or damage to the airport may need to use more effort, but to significantly penetrate the Chinese become increasingly dense and sophisticated integrated air defense system must be to attack such a place. Because nearly doubled the output of F -20, and in sorties with conventional non-supersonic cruise aircraft less the same, so let F -20 fighter stationed in the depths of integrated air defense system would not weaken the subsonic cruise aircraft base productivity.

Production and deployment in China, the capacity of a large number of J -20 is worth noting that, in the guarantee of adequate funding, the Chinese defense industry has surpassed the U.S. defense industry. Sino-US comparison of the regular defense budget, so that the relative size of the investment people had a misconception, especially in capital equipment rationalization. As China’s total budget for national defense, as quoted, mainly reflecting the acquisition of capital equipment and maintenance costs, even though much of the infrastructure and personnel costs are paid by local governments. Most of the U.S. defense budget action costs involved are: Islamic extremists in the rebel movement and the continuing impact of global conflicts over the past decade, the U.S. defense budget is unusually high.

Currently, the United States, the poor performance of single-engine F-35 fighter is the evidence that the U.S. defense industry in many areas of efficiency are pitifully low, and there are bureaucratic problems sourcing the best example: the unit cost of procurement of view, F-35 fighter now larger and more powerful than its twin-engine F-22 "Raptor" fighter is more expensive. In addition, the United States many other items also showed similar symptoms, and the price is too high, poor product performance. Compared with the United States, China’s manufacturing sector is much healthier, and personnel costs under tight control in the talent market, China has more highly skilled personnel. Over the past decade, China’s rapid development of sophisticated F–20 -2000 with the Air Police airborne early warning system capacity, reflecting an effective R & D environment and support the production base.

Therefore, the F -20 represents a technological challenge put forward by China, once the aircraft has achieved a lot after the deployment of sophisticated equipment, it will become the United States and its Pacific Rim allies real strategic problems. Development of -20 F in the development of the U.S. stealth fighter technology strategy asymmetric excellent example of the reaction, as the end of the Cold War and the United States after the Cold War did, in equipment has made the development of an asymmetric reaction to be effectively response.

United States can exercise performance, stealth characteristics, the sensor capabilities and J -20 confrontation and possible fight with weapons of mass destruction and viability only U.S. F-22A "Raptor" fighter. More specifically, the F-22A is based on the evolution of the existing configuration and enhanced variant version.

U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" are excellent in every respect, but the F/A-18E/F and F -20 mature pales when compared, as the F/A-18E/F and compared to the same F-22A.

However, if the failure of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to develop the actual production phase, then all the variations which fighters will become very good version of the same.

Look the same way, all U.S. Air Force, Navy fighters and their allies are a lot of good heritage, but this level of risk in the event of weapons systems, their mobility and sensor capability is still very weak.

In addition, the U.S. Army, Navy, and the Pacific Rim allies in the Army and Air Force based on existing integrated air defense system, will also be the case largely ineffective; To avoid this situation, and the United States needs to use very high frequency (VHF) Active section phased array radar, replacing most of the search radar in order to beat the S / X / Ku section of stealth capability.

Both from a technical strategy also military strategic point of view, the emergence of both F -20 Gates declared the United States and its allies to develop the tactical fighter fleet of the complete failure of the capital restructuring plan. However, Gates’s defense reorganization plan fighter who will no doubt make up a lot of why you should ignore the reasons for -20 F, like a year ago, Russia announced its T-50PAK-FA Stealth fighters have done.

However, if the United States does not change the tactical air fleet air defense reorganization plan and the route to go, it will give the Pacific Rim, China, and bear all the resulting practical and strategic consequences.