U.S. Intelligence Believes China Will Have New Jet Fighter Ready by 2018May 26, 2010

 

U.S. Intelligence Believes China Will Have New Jet Fighter Ready by 2018

China's is building an advanced combat jet that could compete with the United States’ top fighter within eight years, according to a U.S. intelligence official.

The Chinese jet is years ahead of previous Pentagon forecasts, according to an article published by Reuters, suggesting that China's military buildup might be moving faster than had anticipated.

Wayne Ulman of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center testified before a congressionally appointed group that reviews the impact of U.S.-China economic cooperation on national security, that the Chinese combat jet would rival Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor, the top U.S. fighter jet. "We're anticipating China to have a fifth-generation fighter ... operational right around 2018," said Ulman.

"Fifth-generation" fighters are capable of fooling enemy radar screens into registering false shapes, sizes and propulsion systems, according to the article. An incoming F-22, for example, might appear to be a swallow on an enemy radar system.

Lockheed Martin is currently developing another fifth-generation fighter — the Joint Strike Fighter. The jet, also known as the F-35, will not fly as high or as fast as the F-22, according to Reuters.

In contrast to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center official, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has downplayed the advance of China's jet fighter capabilities. Last year, he noted that China would have no fifth-gen fighters by 2020 and just a few by 2025. He has argued that the U.S. has a lopsided advantage in jet fighters, naval capabilities and other military hardware. He believes that many arms programs, backed by various political and business interests, are out of touch with the realities of military threats.

"Is it a dire threat that by 2020 the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?" he said at the Eisenhower presidential library in Abilene, Kansas, according to Reuters.

The Pentagon press secretary downplayed the difference between the timelines cited by Gates and Ulman.