J-20 flies over the Tsushima Strait, and Japan, South Korea, and the US collectively go blind. Is it fake or real?
According to the public report by CCTV Military, a J-20 squadron of the Chinese Air Force successfully flew over the Tsushima Strait, without triggering any radar warning throughout the entire journey. The collective "blindness" of the Japanese, South Korean, and American air defense systems is not only a demonstration of the technical strength of the J-20, but also constitutes a "systemic penetration" of the West Pacific joint detection network.
The Tsushima Strait lies between Kyushu, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula, with a width of only 46 kilometers, yet it is a strategic chokepoint connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. For a long time, this area has been a radar dense zone of the US-Japan-South Korea joint air defense system: Japan deploys the "Patriot" PAC-3 missile system to monitor the airspace 24 hours a day; the US "Aegis" warships equipped with SPY-1D radars patrol near the strait, claiming to have "360-degree coverage"; South Korea's "Emerald" radar system covers the Korean Peninsula and surrounding waters, with a detection range of hundreds of kilometers.
This area, regarded as the "first line of defense in the Western Pacific," has densely intertwined radar nodes, theoretically making it difficult for any aircraft to escape detection. However, in July 2025, the J-20 stealth fighter quietly crossed through. So, is the J-20's stealth performance so powerful that it can evade detection, or did the US-Japan-South Korea see it but pretend not to? It's obviously the former.
The core of the J-20's breakthrough lies in its outstanding stealth performance, which is the result of a revolutionary breakthrough in stealth technology by China's aviation industry, primarily reflected in the perfect balance between the smoothness of the fuselage surface and aerodynamic design.
To achieve stealth and supersonic cruise capabilities, stealth fighters need to keep the fuselage surface as smooth as possible to reduce radar reflection sources. The J-20 excels in this aspect, with the smoothness of its surface even surpassing that of the F-22 and B-2.
It uses large-area carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy resin matrix composite materials for the entire molding skin, with exquisite processing and a smooth, delicate surface. Compared to the F-22, the J-20 has almost no visible gaps at critical parts such as the missile bay doors, and uses very few rivets, achieving a higher level of surface neatness. Except for the rectifying cover of the光电指示 system on the bottom of the nose, all auxiliary intake/exhaust ports, photoelectric detection windows, and communication antennas are conformal with the fuselage surface, ensuring the integrity of aerodynamics and stealth, effectively reducing the radar cross-section.
The J-20 also employs advanced techniques in edge treatment at key areas, further weakening radar wave reflections: all doors, maintenance panels, and areas where materials with different conductivity meet are covered with micro-protruding radar-absorbing structures and undergo serrated processing. The angle of the serrations is consistent with the main wing, specifically designed to weaken traveling waves or crawling waves in the main threat direction, significantly reducing the radar cross-section.
The leading edges of the wings, vertical stabilizers, wingtips, and the front of the inlet use non-metallic composite materials with radar-absorbing/transparent properties, effectively dispersing radar waves and reducing electromagnetic reflection from sharp parts.
Flexible skin technology is used at the connection points of moving parts, made of flexible skins composed of elastic membranes and high-elasticity fiber composite materials, which perfectly conceal gaps, withstand repeated stretching under high altitude and high-speed environments, ensuring surface electrical continuity and aerodynamic smoothness. Additionally, due to the full-moving vertical tail, it avoids the rudder joint issues of the F-22, resulting in better stealth performance. This flexible skin must remain stable under extreme conditions while withstanding mechanical stress from frequent control surface deflections. Its successful application demonstrates China's deep accumulation in high-performance composite materials.
Although stealth coatings play a less important role in overall stealth design compared to shape and structural optimization, the coating technology of the J-20 is still at the world-leading level. Its stealth material thickness is only a fraction of the American equivalent, and it also has low infrared radiation characteristics, with comprehensive performance significantly superior to mainstream global stealth coatings. In addition, the J-20's full-moving vertical tail has a smaller area, and its side radar reflection area is also far better than that of the F-22. When passing through the Tsushima Strait, it was a glorious moment to verify the J-20's side radar performance.
If the stealth performance of the J-20 is a spear, then its performance also depends on the shield of the US, Japan, and South Korea, that is, the technical level of anti-stealth radars. Obviously, although the radar systems of the US, Japan, and South Korea are touted as advanced, they lack advanced meter-wave radars and professional anti-stealth decimeter-wave radars.
Why did the US, Japan, and South Korea collectively go blind? Is it a technical defect or a strategic "pretending not to hear"? The answer is clearly the former — the stealth performance of the J-20 has already left the traditional radar system struggling.
More intriguingly, the rare high-profile disclosure of this operation by CCTV indicates that China deliberately publicly "showed its sword," sending a clear message to the Western Pacific: "I'm here, you can't see me."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535716962249261607/
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