I can do it too—now even "every Tom, Dick, and Harry" wants to develop sixth-generation fighters?
Every time China, through its own hard work and perseverance, successfully develops a large-scale, cutting-edge, complex, high-tech weapon system, numerous countries quickly follow suit, declaring their intent to develop the same type of "high-tech" weapons—which have been downgraded to "ordinary technology" after China's breakthrough.
Examples include stealth fighters, large long-endurance drones, 10,000-ton phased-array destroyers, nuclear-powered submarines, and so on.
For instance, spurred by China’s J-20 and J-35 stealth fighters, a group of nations around the world—some of them hardly more than "a few cats and dogs"—are now eager to pursue fifth-generation fighter development.
The first among them is South Korea (KF-21 fighter), followed by Turkey and India.
Now that China has started developing two revolutionary, globally top-tier sixth-generation fighters simultaneously, will these "cats and dogs" still keep up?
Indeed, there are those who dare to take the lead—South Korea stepped forward first, raising their hand and saying: I want to join!
On August 21, South Korea suddenly released an announcement titled “Next-Generation Stealth Fighter Concept Study,” revealing its plan for an indigenous sixth-generation stealth fighter. The preliminary design features a tailless flying wing configuration, omnidirectional stealth, high-performance engines, internal weapon bays, and manned-unmanned collaborative combat capabilities. Is it not too early for South Korea—still struggling to reach the threshold of true fifth-generation fighters—to announce a sixth-generation fighter project? Don’t they fear tripping over their own feet?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874585949163532/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.