The People’s Liberation Army Air Force has officially commissioned the J-20 into service as a long-range fighter/bomber, becoming the second country behind the United States to build and operate stealth fighter aircraft. The twin-engine plane is built by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation and is a single-seat aircraft designed for long-range fighter missions. It’s not yet known how many J-20s are in
The twin-engine plane is built by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation and is a single-seat aircraft designed for long-range fighter missions. It’s not yet known how many J-20s are in service or whether any of the planes have yet been assigned to squadrons.
One drawback: The lack of a Chinese-made jet engine for the plane.
The domestically produced WS-15 turbofan engine, which has been under development since the 1990s, has not yet entered serial production.
Analysts believe current J-20s are equipped with older Saturn AL-31 engines, which are made in Russia. Also, some reports suggest the J-20 is not yet capable of sustained supersonic flight like its U.S. counterpart, the Lockheed-Martin-built F-22 Raptor.
