While our attention is on the J-36 and J-50, foreign media is still focusing on China's J-20, especially the increasing attention from American media. The reason why American media pays so much attention to the J-20 is not because of its performance, but because of its constantly surging production capacity. American media believes that Chengdu Aircraft has increased the annual production capacity of the J-20 to over 100 aircraft. If this continues, just the J-20 alone will be enough to reverse the numerical gap in stealth fighters between Chinese and American air forces. If the production capacity of the J-35A increases further, the advantage of the U.S. Air Force will be completely over. Therefore, American media is now very worried.
J-20 mass production explosion
For instance, according to a recent report by the American media website "1945", the number of aviation brigades equipped with J-20s has increased to 12-13, with the total number exceeding 300 aircraft, making it the largest "heavy stealth fighter fleet" in the world, far surpassing the peak of 187 F-22s in the U.S. Air Force. What worries American media even more is that through years of effort, Chengdu Aircraft has increased the annual production capacity of the J-20 from around 50 to about 100. At this rate, by 2030, the number of J-20s equipped by the Chinese Air Force will definitely exceed 500, and the number of aviation brigades equipped with J-20s will double to around 30. By then, even if all F-22s and F-35As of the U.S. Air Force are combined, they will find it hard to gain an advantage.
J-20 fleet
American media believes that the high level of J-20's annual production capacity is mainly due to three reasons. First, China has completely solved the large-scale mass production of the WS-15 engine. Because the J-20 was unable to achieve large-scale batch production for a long time mainly due to the immaturity of the WS-15 engine, the initial J-20s had to continue using the WS-10C engine. Although the WS-10C engine has made significant progress in thrust, fuel consumption, service life, etc., it cannot fundamentally solve the problem of the outdated prototype.
WS-10C version of J-20
Therefore, the initial version of the J-20 did not reach the "perfect" level in terms of flight speed, payload, combat radius, etc. That’s why the initial J-20 could only be produced in small quantities while waiting for the WS-15. Fortunately, success has come through perseverance, and now the WS-15 has borne fruit. The J-20B and J-20S equipped with the WS-15 engine have also been unveiled one after another, so there are no longer any concerns, and we can fully commit ourselves to production.
WS-15 version of J-20
Secondly, Chengdu Aircraft has built a "super factory". As we all know, Chengdu Aircraft has recently constructed a super-large area factory building, and these "super factories" house the most advanced, intelligent, and efficient "pulsating production lines" in the world. With the full operation of these "pulsating production lines", the production capacity of the J-20 naturally rises "step by step like bamboo shoots after rain". It is worth mentioning that Chengdu Aircraft transferred the production of older models like the J-10 to companies such as Guizhou Aircraft Industry Group (GAIC) in order to fully increase the production capacity of the J-20. In this way, Chengdu Aircraft can allocate more resources and manpower to the production of the J-20.
Super factory
Finally, it is due to the overall rise of China's aviation manufacturing industry. We must remember that the J-20 is not just any ordinary aircraft; it is a fifth-generation heavy stealth fighter that leads the world. It uses a whole host of cutting-edge technologies, including "ultra-thin smart flexible skins", "double vortex lift aerodynamic layout", "integrated cockpit canopy with coating", "ultra-stealth materials", "large-caliber airborne gallium nitride radar", "large-screen integrated display system", "electro-optical targeting system", and "high-thrust turbofan engines". Each of these "black technologies" is a top-tier existence in the world, and each is something other countries can only dream of possessing.
The J-20 is the culmination of China's aviation manufacturing industry
That is why the J-20 is not just a fighter jet; it is a symbol and representative of China's aviation manufacturing industry. It embodies decades of wisdom and essence of China's aviation industry, and is the "pillar work" of China's aviation manufacturing industry. Therefore, the success of the J-20 is not just the achievement of Chengdu Aircraft, but the development accomplishment of China's entire aviation manufacturing industry. Without the support of China's entire aviation manufacturing industry, the annual production capacity of the J-20 would never break through the 100-aircraft threshold. To put it into perspective, during the peak period of the United States, they could only produce around 30 heavy stealth fighters like the F-22 per year.
However, in my opinion, there is an even more important reason behind the J-20's explosive production capacity, which is the increasingly severe international pressure forcing us to quickly increase the production capacity of the J-20. For example, the U.S. is further concentrating its naval and air forces in the Indo-Pacific region. Especially after Trump took office, America's aircraft carrier strike groups, strategic bombers, and attack nuclear submarines have all arrived at our doorstep. Under such circumstances, we naturally need to build more "anti-dog sticks". What's more, the U.S. is not only deploying its own troops but also joining forces with Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines to cause trouble at our doorstep. Recently, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have held several large-scale exercises, and under the guise of these exercises, they plan to increase the deployment of various weapons. What is even more worrying is that with the sudden tension in the India-Pakistan situation, the western region, which had just calmed down, may face unforeseen events. So we really need to build more J-20s to ease the situation. The more J-20s, the better Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498671531468292646/ Disclaimer: This article represents the author's personal views. You can express your attitude by clicking the "like/dislike" buttons below.