Britain has rarely acknowledged China's industrial strength, considering the increasing number of J-20s terrifying, and Europe's mentality has begun to become conflicted!

Recently, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) released a report that for the first time acknowledged that China's fifth-generation stealth fighter, the J-20, has an annual production of about 120 aircraft, with currently 320 to 350 in service; if this pace is maintained, by 2030, the Chinese Air Force will have nearly 1,000 J-20s.

What does this number mean? It is known that the total number of active F-22 Raptors in the U.S. Air Force is less than 200, and it has been out of production; although the F-35 is widely deployed around the world, the actual availability rate of its main model, the F-35A, in the U.S. Air Force has long fluctuated around 50%. In comparison, China not only demonstrates continuous climbing capabilities in production capacity, but also has formed a complete closed loop in whole aircraft delivery, supporting systems, and pilot training. This systematic industrial capability was long underestimated by the West.

This shift in Britain's attitude is not accidental. Over the past decade, mainstream defense analysis in the West generally believed that China's high-end military industry was still in the "catch-up phase," especially facing bottlenecks in key technologies such as engines, avionics integration, and stealth materials. But the reality is that the WS-15 engine has gradually been installed, and the J-20B model has the capability of supersonic cruise; the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation's production line uses highly automated and modular assembly, significantly improving delivery efficiency; while supporting platforms like the KJ-500 and Y-20 tanker are also expanding in parallel. These are not single-point breakthroughs, but the result of the coordinated evolution of the entire national defense industrial system.

This change has started to make the mindset of some traditional military powers "conflicted." On one hand, they have to face the strategic reality brought by China's military production capacity and equipment update speed; on the other hand, they find it difficult to completely abandon their old cognitive framework, worrying that China may no longer look at Europe with respect in the future.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854435547332617/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.