China Stealth Fighter? Photos Released Online Raise Speculations.

/BEIJING — Photos leaked online that appear to
show a prototype of China's first stealth fighter jet
were discussed in state media Wednesday – a
move that supports claims the country's military
aviation program is advancing faster than
expected.
Both the English and Chinese language editions of
the Global Times ran front-page articles on the
photos of what appears to be a future J-20
fighter, along with extensive reports on the buzz
the pictures have generated overseas.
Photos of the plane appeared on unofficial military
news websites and hobbyist blogs last week and
were still viewable Wednesday.
The Global Times did not comment on the
authenticity of the pictures, but since the
government wields extensive control over state
media, the report's appearance and the fact that
censors have not removed images from
websites suggest a calculated move to leak the
information into the public sphere.
That in turn would reflect the growing confidence
of the traditionally secretive People's Liberation
Army, which is pushing for greater influence and
bigger budgets.
But the U.S. Defense Department said it wasn't
worried about the reports.
"It is not of concern that they are working on a
fifth-generation fighter," Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a
Pentagon spokesman, said, since the Chinese are
"still having difficulties with their fourth-generation
fighter."
Calls to the spokesman's office at the Defense
Ministry rang unanswered.
Aviation websites said the photos were taken
from outside a fence at the Chengdu Aircraft
Design Institute's airfield in southwestern China.
The plane appeared to be undergoing a taxiing
test of the sort that precedes an actual flight test.
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A future Chinese stealth fighter has long been
considered an inevitability. Deputy air force chief
He Weirong told state broadcaster CCTV in
November 2009 that China's fourth-generation
fighter – a reference to stealth technology – would
begin flight testing soon and could enter service
within eight to 10 years.
China's aviation industry – both military and
civilian – has made rapid progress in recent years
but still relies heavily on imported technology.
Propulsion technology has been a particular
problem, with Russian engines still employed on
China's homemade J-10 fighter jets and the J-11, a
copy of Russia's Su-27 fighter jet.
Stealth technology is even more difficult to
master because it relies on systems to hide the
presence of the plane while equipping the pilot
with enough information to attack an enemy.
Emissions must be hidden and the plane's
fuselage sculpted to avoid detection by radar and
infrared sensors.
Chinese progress in that field calls into question
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' decision to
cap production of the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter at
187 planes. Supporters of the F-22 have warned
of growing threats from China, as well as Russia,
which has developed a stealth prototype that is
already in the test flight stage.
Analysis of the J-20 photos shows it to be larger
than either the Russian or U.S. planes, likely
allowing it fly farther and carry heavier weapons.
___
Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed
to this report from Washington.


Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/05/china-stealth-fighter-photos_n_804589.html