The Chinese military is deploying its most advanced fighter jet to hotly contested regions in the East and South China Seas, according to Chinese state media. The J-20 stealth fighter jet will begin its deployments as part of training sessions, per Chinese state-owned media outlet Global Times. A Chinese colonel said that the deployments ensured…

The U.S. embassy in Beijing could be evacuating as the virus surges in the city. Concerns over Beijing locking down have U.S. personnel worried, but the Chinese state media calls it a “plot” by the United States. I spoke with a senior aviation analyst about the arms war and exports—the Russia-U.S.-China export of their fifth…

News Analysis How good is China’s most advanced fighter jet, the J-20? The J-20 is a “fifth-generation” combat aircraft, which ostensibly puts it in the same league as the U.S. F-22 and F-35. Fifth-generation fighters have certain common characteristics: very low visibility (stealth), the ability to fly at supersonic speeds without using an afterburner (called…

News Analysis China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is undergoing a massive buildup in capabilities while the world is distracted. The PLA has embarked on a massive buildup in recent years that has been cleverly camouflaged by the pandemic, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) charm offensive on the diplomatic front, and the supposed “benevolence” of the…

China and Russia are developing capabilities to counter and surpass the air power of the Western alliance, a British defence official warned on Wednesday. “Thirty years ago, the UK and its Western allies appeared unchallenged in the air domain,” said Jeremy Quin, Britain’s minister for defence procurement, in reference to the first Gulf War in…