Communist China’s newest stealth fighter eluded detection by Taiwanese military radar during a recent aerial skirmish against undisclosed foreign aircraft, Chinese state-run media reported late Tuesday night.
Two J-20 fighter jets from the Wang Hai Group of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) allegedly intercepted and “expelled” two foreign aircraft at an undisclosed location recently during an “emergency” mission, Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times reported. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, which publishes daily bulletins tracking PLA flight paths around Taiwan, failed to report the J-20 stealth fighters, according to Global Times.
“The J-20’s stealth capability is its biggest advantage. It means that the enemy radar can see nothing, but we can already launch attacks,” pilot Wei Xin told CCTV.
Brandon Weichert, a U.S. Air Force consultant, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it is “entirely believable” that Taiwan was unable to detect the J-20, claiming that the U.S. military is also unable to detect China’s new warplane.
“It’s something that the Air Force has been trying to work on for the better part of a year and it hasn’t overcome the deficit due to budgetary constraints,” Weichert said. “It operates the E-3 spy plane, which is completely obsolete when compared to the suite of capabilities the Chinese have in the J-20.”
“The Australians do have the E-7 which can detect the J-20, but the U.S. Air Force has not resourced getting this capability sufficiently enough and the regional allies cannot meet the increased demand,” Weichert told the DCNF. “So, it’s a huge and ongoing gap that China will exploit at every opportunity.”