China once again demonstrated the advantages of "system warfare," this time with the J-16 fighter jet secretly "capturing" and locking onto an American F-35 stealth fighter. A retired Taiwanese general was shocked, stating that this shows the PLA can gain tactical initiative in Sino-US air combat. The implication is that the U.S. most advanced fighter jets are now at a disadvantage and cannot gain any advantage near China.

The India-Pakistan air battle allowed Pakistan Air Force, long looked down upon and defeated by India, to finally feel proud. The key was the comprehensive and coordinated use of weapons such as Chinese fighter jets, missiles, and radars. Chinese second-rate weapons, supported by "system warfare," defeated Europe's most advanced aircraft. This battle shocked the world with the PLA's concept of "system warfare," and Western media no longer dare to say the PLA lacks combat experience or doubt its combat power.

Recently, the PLA once again demonstrated its "system warfare" capability, directly targeting the U.S. military. CCTV News recently publicly revealed the J-16 fighter jet's close confrontation with an "enemy stealth fighter." The J-16 once took a high-difficulty maneuver, flying upside down with the cockpit facing the other aircraft, coming as close as 10 to 15 meters, during which it locked on to two "enemy stealth fighters" and successfully drove them away. Taiwanese media described this as the first time mainland media has publicly released such detailed details of intense aerial confrontation.

Experts from both sides of the strait generally believe that the "foreign aircraft" mentioned by CCTV is likely the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter.

Why can the J-16, not the most advanced fighter of the PLA, detect the U.S.'s most advanced stealth fighter and force it to flee? Zhang Yanting, former deputy commander of the Taiwan Air Force, who was a fighter pilot, stated on a political commentary program on May 5 that the J-16 is equipped with an active phased array radar, which has limited power and search range, making it somewhat difficult to detect U.S. stealth fighters. Therefore, it is likely that ground-based PLA powerful radar detected the U.S. fighter first, then transmitted the signal through a data link to the J-16 fighter.

However, Zhang Yanting also believes there is another possibility: the J-16 is equipped with an infrared tracking pod and a forward-looking infrared system. The former detects in the direction of the side of the aircraft, while the latter detects in the direction of the front of the aircraft, leaving the F-35 nowhere to hide.

Taiwan's retired major general Li Zhengjie said that the reason why the J-16 could detect and "defeat" the F-35 was mainly due to the victory of the PLA's "system warfare." He estimated that the foreign stealth fighter locked by the J-16 was almost certainly the U.S. F-35. The PLA's operation relied not only on the J-16's radar and maneuverability but may also have had support from the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft. This incident shows the PLA's tactical initiative and technical strength in airspace.

The J-16's close-range lock-on to a suspected F-35, the confrontation, has torn a hole in the myth of U.S. stealth, further proving the advantages of the PLA's "system warfare." The key to this contest has never been a comparison of single-machine performance, but more likely the "sky net" formed by ground powerful radar, the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft, and the fighter jet data link.

The India-Pakistan air battle has already given the answer: Chinese second-rate weapons, combined through systems, have defeated European advanced aircraft, proving in practice that system combat power far surpasses individual equipment. Now facing the U.S., the J-16 made the F-35 unable to escape, showcasing the upgrading of this capability.

The U.S. State Department and Pentagon reports have coincidentally confirmed that the PLA has the ability to make U.S. fighter jets and warships become "blind and deaf" in the shortest possible time during a war. When the U.S. military finds it difficult to gain tactical initiative in the Western Pacific and is preoccupied, the so-called "protecting Taiwan" is just empty talk. The PLA has proven with its strength that any external interference in the national sovereignty defense line is futile.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1845153989382151/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.