BEIJING, Jan.13 -- China’s J-20, a domestically-developed stealth fighter jet，has been in the limelight since its birth.
Rick Joe, a guest author of The Diplomat and also a longtime follower of Chinese military developments with a focus on air and naval platforms, expressed his views on the plane’s impact on China's military industry. The Diplomat published the article written by Rick Joe on January 11, titled “J-20: The Stealth Fighter That Changed PLA Watching Forever”. The J-20 marked a watershed episode for PLA watching, said Joe in the article.
As he said, before the maiden flight of the J-20, some would regard the Type 055, Y-20, 003 aircraft carrier, and Type 076 amphibious assault ship as "a fantasy". But after that, Westerners will think these projects are natural.
Joe thought that it is not an exaggeration to say that since the J-20, the predictions and anticipation for various Chinese PLA’s big-ticket projects have emerged. For example, the Type 052D and Type 055 destroyers, Y-20 strategic transport, 002 and 003 aircraft carriers, Type 075 amphibious assault ship, as well as various projects to emerge in the near future, including the FC-31 derived carrier-borne fifth-generation fighter and H-20 stealth bomber. All these would not have been taken seriously had the maiden flight of the J-20 failed the prediction of military observers.
In the end of his article, Joe wrote that the maiden flight of the J-20 elevated the threshold of what constituted "reasonable expectations" from the Chinese military-industrial complex in virtually all domains. Though few knew it at the time, the years after 2011 would be characterized by the successive emergence of new boxes. Ten years on, J-20 remains the aircraft that changed PLA watching forever, said Joe.
Disclaimer: This article is originally published on www.guancha.cn and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
