The Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” is the flagship project of China’s military modernization. This fifth-generation fighter is meant to support China’s air dominance in the East and South China Seas and across the Himalayas.
The aircraft is designed to take on the leading US fighters, such as the F-22 and F-35. Nearly 250 have already been built, and over 200 have been operationally inducted. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) is expected to have 400 aircraft by 2027, and they target having nearly 1,000 by 2035.
China has one of the largest economies and is still growing significantly. According to the Global Data Fixed-Wing Market Forecast of 2022-32, the assessed current cost of the J-20 is around $100 million per aircraft. The overall program is anticipated to cost around $30 billion. China can afford such spending to meet its global power aspirations.
China has understood that for projecting power and becoming a global military leader, pushing air, maritime, and space dominance is crucial. Therefore they are also investing significantly in aircraft carriers.
For several years, it has been known and publicly acknowledged that China has surpassed the U.S. Navy in the sheer number of warships. In a recent testimony on Capitol Hill, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command suggested that China may soon have the world’s largest air force.
Work is now aggressively underway to operationalize the Shenyang J-31, another Indigenous fifth-generation fighter that follows the J-20. Relatively smaller, this F-35 look-alike will have a carrier variant.
China also bought nearly squadron-sized Su-35 (24 aircraft). Some contend that this was primarily to understand further developments by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
It could help it reverse engineer some more technologies to improve its Su-30MKK and other similar fleets. But this multi-role aircraft does give PLAAF more firepower. The Su-35S entered service with PLAAF in April 2018 and is based in Guangdong province in southeast China.
