BEIJING—Images and witness accounts posted
online Tuesday appeared to show that China's
stealth fighter prototype had made its first test
flight, even as Robert Gates, the U.S. Defense
Secretary who has downplayed China's stealth
aircraft capability, was meeting Chinese civilian
leaders in Beijing.
The J-20, which has been undergoing runway
tests for the last two weeks or so, took off from
an airstrip at the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
just before 1 p.m. local time and flew for about 20
minutes, according to several witness accounts
posted by Chinese bloggers.
Photographs of the twin-engine plane in flight
appeared on several unofficial Chinese defense-
related websites, which have also posted dozens
of still and video images of the J-20 making the
runway tests over the last fortnight.
The accounts couldn't immediately be directly
confirmed. China's Defense Ministry, Air Force
and the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute have all
declined to comment on previous J-20 images,
and their representatives were not immediately
available for further comment Tuesday.
But Chinese authorities, who routinely delete
politically sensitive material and detain those who
produce it, have allowed the J-20 images to be
circulated in what military experts say is a clear
sign that the People's Liberation Army wanted
them made public.
The images suggest that China is making faster-
than-expected progress in developing a potential
rival to the U.S. F-22 —currently the world's only
fully operational stealth fighter.
The images and accounts of the apparent test
flight Tuesday were also re-produced by
xinhuanet.com, the more commercial arm of the
state-run Xinhua news agency, and by
huanqiu.com, the website of the state-run Global
Times newspaper.
Source: Http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704428004576075042571461586.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
online Tuesday appeared to show that China's
stealth fighter prototype had made its first test
flight, even as Robert Gates, the U.S. Defense
Secretary who has downplayed China's stealth
aircraft capability, was meeting Chinese civilian
leaders in Beijing.
The J-20, which has been undergoing runway
tests for the last two weeks or so, took off from
an airstrip at the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
just before 1 p.m. local time and flew for about 20
minutes, according to several witness accounts
posted by Chinese bloggers.
Photographs of the twin-engine plane in flight
appeared on several unofficial Chinese defense-
related websites, which have also posted dozens
of still and video images of the J-20 making the
runway tests over the last fortnight.
The accounts couldn't immediately be directly
confirmed. China's Defense Ministry, Air Force
and the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute have all
declined to comment on previous J-20 images,
and their representatives were not immediately
available for further comment Tuesday.
But Chinese authorities, who routinely delete
politically sensitive material and detain those who
produce it, have allowed the J-20 images to be
circulated in what military experts say is a clear
sign that the People's Liberation Army wanted
them made public.
The images suggest that China is making faster-
than-expected progress in developing a potential
rival to the U.S. F-22 —currently the world's only
fully operational stealth fighter.
The images and accounts of the apparent test
flight Tuesday were also re-produced by
xinhuanet.com, the more commercial arm of the
state-run Xinhua news agency, and by
huanqiu.com, the website of the state-run Global
Times newspaper.
Source: Http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704428004576075042571461586.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
0 comments:
Post a Comment