Blogs Jan 12, 2011 at 8:47 am

China Is Getting All Stealthy

Charles Mudede
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Comments

1
I hate all the money we spend on "defense" but, damn, those planes are pretty.
DOUG. on January 12, 2011 at 9:02 AM Report this
2
"Chinese stealth doesn't scare me as much as American stealth.”

Wow, Charles, really? Chinese stealth scares the shit out of me ... and I’m sure China’s growing military power scares the shit out of places like Taiwan, Vietnam, and Tibet.
olive oyl on January 12, 2011 at 9:16 AM Report this
3
The American Nighthawk, the F-117, was developed in the 1970s. The Chinese J-XX (which you should have posted a photo of for comparison) was developed in the 2000s, thirty years later. That should tell you which is scarier.
Joe Szilagyi on January 12, 2011 at 9:40 AM Report this
4
Impressive, but they are late to the dance. The future of combat aircraft are supersonic stealth UAVs. The Chinese air force will remain JV until they master building their own high performance jet engines instead of buying them from the Russians.

I would be a lot more scared of their anti-ship ballistic missile program, which even the Navy concedes they don't have much of a defense against.
Westside forever on January 12, 2011 at 10:38 AM Report this
5
The Chinese jet is also a prototype. It seems they won't have any in production for many, many years. I bet there isn't much under the skin, almost like an inflatable, blown up just in time for Gates visit. Maybe origami? Is it just me or does China seem to have some form of small man's complex?

On a side note... It has been increasingly alarming to me how our country freely hands out our defense and space technology. Documentaries about how we do this and articles about how we make that. I'm all for a transparent government except when it comes to space and defense. We should cooperate on environmental and health sciences and some things should be kept off limits (even 30yr old tech). Stealth is supposed to be stealth! Hey! Did you not see our new Stealth fighters blow up Saddam's Palace?! WTF! I like to believe it is all part of a misinformation plan and we have vastly more advanced technology under wraps. Hopefully we already have Moon and Mars bases and have already had a pow wow with the Aliens.

on January 12, 2011 at 10:51 AM Report this
6
The Chinese don't need stealth to murder its own citizens.
sirkowski on January 12, 2011 at 11:55 AM Report this
8
Another interesting topic is that the test flight of the J-20 has exposed a potential cleavage between the military and civilian leadership of the Chinese party.

When Gates had a meeting with Hu Jintao on the topic of possibly resuming joint exercises, he mentioned the J-20 tests. A huge swath of the seated civilian leadership and Hu (he's an important part of the military, as chairman of the Central Military Commission) were visibly shocked by the news that Gates had heard of the tests.

Some news sources have interpreted this as signifying information differentials between military and civilian leadership. I personally believe it is a difference of opinion over PR strategy. Regardless, I think this gives us a new perspective on the nature of PRC bellicosity.

Relevant link: http://www.sinocism.com/archives/1539
Xunzi on January 12, 2011 at 12:36 PM Report this

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