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China deploys J-20 stealth fighter jets to units monitoring Taiwan Strait
- New brigade of upgraded J-20s deployed in ceremony forming part of Communist Party’s centenary
- Deployment aimed at telling South Korea and Japan that China is strengthening its air defence, observer says
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China has deployed its most advanced stealth fighter jet to air force units monitoring the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea, state media said, in a move Chinese observers saw as a warning to South Korea and Japan, the US’ allies in the region.
The deployment indicated China had delivered at least four aviation brigades with a total of 150 J-20 fighter jets, including two training bases in Inner Mongolia and Hebei and two aviation brigades in the eastern and northern theatre commands, a military insider said.
“China will accelerate the deployment of the upgraded version J-20C, with probably at least one or two brigades in every theatre command to defend the country’s five strategic directions in the next five years,” the insider, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity, told the South China Morning Post. The five directions referred to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) five theatre commands, in the north, south, west, east and central.
“As one brigade needs at least 36 aircraft, it means the PLA Air Force will need more than 300 J-20s in the future,” they said. “But the progress will rely on the delivery of the home-built WS-10C engine and the latest development of the tailor-made WS-15 engine for the J-20s.”
02:05
Injured Chinese pilot flying again after bird-strike that forced air force jet to crash
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China has stopped using Russian AL-31F engines originally fitted on the J-20s, replacing them with the upgraded home-built WS-10C, a stopgap choice, with development of the more powerful WS-15 engine affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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