Chengdu J-20: China’s Controversial Stealth Fighter

The Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon, China’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter, has sparked concerns over its development, possibly involving American technology.

Chengdu J-20: China’s Stealth Fighter and the Espionage Controversy

The Chengdu J20 Mighty Dragon, China’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter, garnered some respect from the Western world, acknowledging that China had made strides towards countering a significant military advantage. However, the J20 is not on par with American fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 or F-35, despite potentially incorporating American technology.

Is the J20 Homegrown?

Following the J-20’s 2011 debut, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) raised the critical question: “Does China’s New J-20 Stealth Fighter Have American Technology?”

CSIS noted that “this is not the first time China has quickly advanced in building sophisticated weaponry.” While it took the US and Soviet Union decades to reduce the noise of their nuclear submarines, China achieved similar results in roughly half the time, raising suspicions about how China acquired such technologies. CSIS suggested that espionage or other illicit means might have been involved.

Similarly, the rapid development of the J-20 has led to questions about whether China obtained necessary stealth technologies through espionage.

China, like any rational actor, actively seeks to acquire US military technology. Regarding stealth technology, China might have obtained fragments of a downed F-117 Nighthawk from Serbia in 1999. Despite China’s denial, this claim is likely a canard, given China’s support for Serbia at the time, making a technology exchange plausible.

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Additionally, China gained valuable insights when McDonnell Douglas operated an assembly plant in Shanghai during the 1990s. Observing American manufacturing methods allowed China to accelerate its aerospace manufacturing capabilities.

China’s tech acquisition activities, including cyber espionage, are not unusual. James Anderson, former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, stated that the J-20 directly benefited from US technology theft. “Due to espionage efforts, the J-20 is more advanced than it otherwise would be,” Anderson said. He emphasized that China employed various methods to acquire US military secrets, ranging from human intelligence and bribes to cyber hacking.

Anderson highlighted that these efforts saved China time and money, effectively subsidizing their research and development by stealing US secrets.