China military watch
Hopefully I can keep this tPF thread updated monthly. Here is the first article.Welcome to ‘China military watch’, a new monthly feature in The Strategist from ASPI’s defence analysts examining developments in Chinese military affairs.
Read the rest of the article at the link.China has announced the beginning of mass production of the J-20B ‘Mighty Dragon’ fifth-generation fighter. The J-20B is an upgrade of the J-20A and adds vectored thrust-engine technology for increased manoeuvrability during air combat within visual range, which is intriguing because it implies that the PLA Air Force still sees ‘dogfighting’ as important.
Although many Western air forces are emphasising stealth technology and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile engagements over short-range air combat, there’s still a need to be able to dogfight. The addition of vectored thrust will make the J-20B more deadly, especially if a force of J-20Bs can overwhelm an opponent with sheer numbers and force them into a close-in engagement.
A challenge for the J-20B is that it still uses WS-10C engines, since the development of China’s much more powerful indigenous WS-15 engine is still behind schedule. The addition of the WS-15 would mark the final maturation of the J-20 platform. The WS-15 will enable China to end its dependence on Russian aircraft engine technology and potentially to develop new types of combat aircraft.
Taiwan, missile defence and amphibious warfare