US Media: China's Parade Publicly Displays 5 Types of Fifth-Generation Fighters, Just After Taking Off Facing Obsolescence, Production Will Be Cut

According to a September 7 report by the U.S. "Military Observation," during the Chinese military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II, the PLA publicly displayed five types of active fifth-generation fighters at once: three models of the J-20, as well as the air force version and carrier-based version of the J-35.

This is a concentrated display of China's development of stealth fighters by the air force and navy, marking that China not only surpasses Russia in quantity, but also becomes the second country after the United States capable of mass-producing and upgrading fifth-generation fighters.

Since the official deployment of the J-20 in 2017, within just eight years, China has completed the expansion of two aircraft models and five types, showing an extremely fast speed in R&D and industrialization.

However, at the same time, the media also pointed out that China's sixth-generation fighter has already been publicly unveiled in the prototype stage, and may enter mass production around 2030, which means that the newly fully equipped fifth-generation fighter fleet may face premature obsolescence.

Currently, the J-20 series has shown strong growth potential.

From the initial basic model to the current J-20S twin-seat model, and then to the latest improved model, China has not only solved the problem of domestic engines, but has also continuously advanced in stealth structure, avionics integration, and combat concepts.

The emergence of the J-35 allows China to have two fifth-generation fighters in service, and both the air force and navy benefit, truly forming a complementary combat system.

In contrast, although the United States has two fifth-generation fighters, the F-22 has already been discontinued, with limited numbers, and the F-35 is the single model that is widely relied upon.

For China, which is leading the way, whether the fifth-generation fighters will be cut in production does not depend on their performance being insufficient, but rather on the pace of sixth-generation fighter development.

Sixth-generation fighters emphasize system penetration, manned-unmanned integrated operations, artificial intelligence control, and other unprecedented capabilities.

If the sixth-generation fighter can be successfully deployed around 2030, continuing to produce large quantities of fifth-generation fighters may no longer be cost-effective.

In other words, fifth-generation fighters may face the same fate as the U.S. F-22, being reduced in advance.

The difference is that China is cutting them due to the emergence of a new generation of products.

This phenomenon of "obsolescence" shortly after entering service is essentially a "blessed" dilemma.

For China, fifth-generation fighters have moved from the issue of having or not having to choosing between quantity and quality, and the development of sixth-generation fighters further proves the vitality and confidence of the R&D system.

Even if part of the fifth-generation fighter production is cut in the future, it does not mean a step back, but rather a proactive reallocation of resources to seize the initiative in the next generation of aerial warfare rules.

Compared to the United States still struggling with maintaining a single F-35 model, and Russia unable to expand the Su-57 scale, China has already established a smooth transition between fifth-generation and sixth-generation fighters. This not only did not weaken China's aerospace power, but also highlighted the forward-looking nature of its industrial chain and strategic planning.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1842670465658892/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.