China Reportedly Tests Stealth Fighter

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

BEIJING — In a show of force that seemed aimed at the United States and visiting Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, China apparently conducted the first test-flight of its new stealth fighter jet on Tuesday, only hours before Mr. Gates was to meet with President Hu Jintao.

One Hong Kong-based expert on the Chinese military, Andrei Chang, said in a telephone interview that the radar-evading plane, the J-20, flew for about 15 minutes over an airfield in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Photos of the jet in flight were also posted on unofficial Chinese military Web sites and on a computer bulletin board run by Global Times, a state-run newspaper known for its hawkish positions.

Mr. Gates said he directly asked Mr. Hu why it was conducted during a three-day trip that is meant to smooth over rocky relations between the United States military and China’s increasingly assertive armed forces.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/world/asia/12fighter.html

[rfranklin]

1. this is a week old story...

We now spend six times as much as the Chinese on the military. Now I suppose we will have to spend twenty times as much.

[DissedByBush]

3. Probably, since we paid for the R&D for this

The technology for much of this plane was stolen from our F-22 program.

China has an incredible spy program going on in this country.

[MikeW]

13. China steals most of its tech ... not surprising

[Brother Buzz]

9. It was unveiled last week

Tuesday (It's now almost Wednesday in China) was it's first public test flight

[DainBramaged]

2. The Chinese, diplomacy is NOT one of their strong points

bullying, extortion and virtual slavery are it's strong points.....

[social_critic]

5. Imperial powers usually lack diplomacy

Like the Chinese, the USA are bullies, and love extortion. They also use torture and war. I guess the two imperial powers will muddle through, each abusing power in its own way.

[DainBramaged]

10. Long after I'm gone China will decide they have the biggest dick in the world

and the world will suffer as we battle them for survival.........

[Johnyawl]

4. Did Lockheed pay the chinese to do this?

[lib2DaBone]

6. Is it really a good idea to give China our High Speed computers and latest manufacturing technology?

Thanks to Mr. Clinton.. China already has our best computer technology. We have shipped all our jobs there (devastating the American worker) and given China our latest manufacturing technology. We have received nothing in return.

China now produces a large amount of the ammunition our troops use in Afghanistan.

China now has a stealth fighter aircraft that rivals our F22 Raptur.

Does anyone else see a problem developing here?

[DainBramaged]

11. Our military-industrial complex still views Russia as the threat

And China as the buffer and cheap source of ammunition. But when we shut down all of our ammunition and weapons plants because Chna does it cheaper, what reason don't they have for pulling a Red Dawn on us?


Think about that. All the personal firearms in the Country aren't going to do shit against tank and mortar shells.

[alp227]

14. the right wing had been hyping that China stole our secrets story during late 90s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cox_Report

In fact, that'd been going on since the two Republican previous presidential administrations (http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/060805.html)

[DissedByBush]

15. Don't forget the Bush family!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x242422

If I remember correctly, some time later the sale of chip fab technology to China was approved.

[JDPriestly]

7. Shall we thank all those corporations that moved their manufacturing

capacity to China now -- or after the bombs start falling.

Free trade, my eye. What a fools' paradise the right-wing propaganda about free trade is.

And the people who support free trade claim to be American patriots.

[Botany]

8. Hu saw that plane? Nobody that is Hu.

Maybe he was looking in the Wong place.

Thank you! I'll be here all week! Try the veal!

[TheLastMohican]

12. Relax people

The Chinese are still 10-15 years behind both US and Russia in avionics, and whatever flew there yesterday was a cheap knock-off copy of the MIG 1.44 experimental model.
MIG was pushed hard to the sidelines when Sukhoi won the competition for the stealth fighter in Russia.
In order to survive they decided to sell their prototype to China to make some bucks. That plane is still missing a lot of things like avionics necessary to become a true 5th generation plane.
Everything else is chinese photoshop art that they are so good at.

[Nolimit]

16. Precisely

All we've seen are images of the plane. I reckon it's not too hard to design an impressive-looking fighter but for it to carry a decent weapons system inside the plane to decrease its radar signature is a whole different story. I wager that the one tested wasn't carrying any sort of load-out and the program is nowhere near complete. Most military aircraft have their first flight years before they are introduced (sometimes even over a decade).