Update on China's New Shenyang J-31 Stealth Fighter

[Doug Robertson]

This fifth-generation high performance stealth fighter will be officially debuted at the Zhuhai International Air Show Nov. 11-16, 2014 in China's Guangdong Province. Based upon cyber-stolen technology from the near $400 billion Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, this fifth-generation Chinese stealth fighter happened "because industrial espionage is alive and well" according to an experienced U.S. F-35 pilot.

Chinese hackers in June 2011 did a well-publicized cyber-assault on Lockheed and other defense contractors. This was one of a series of ongoing attacks seeking to steal U.S defense technology. The Shenyang J-31 is designed to operate from aircraft carriers like the F-35C Lightning II of Lockheed-Martin. The F-35C and the J-31 are the world's only carrier-based stealth aircraft.

In 1999 an American F-117 Nighthawk bomber with stealth technology was shot down in Serbia, with the wreckage reportedly given to the Chinese. Ten years later, the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter, a clone of America's F-22 Raptor, first flew.

China purchased the ex-Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag from Ukraine and upgraded it, renamed now Liaoning, the flagship of the Chinese navy. China also has 53 diesel-powered submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines.

China's new weapons include the Dong Feng-21D missile, a large anti-ship attacker, capable of destroying an aircraft carrier. And, they are testing a hypersonic glide vehicle, the WU-14 designed to evade U.S. missiles and defense systems such as the Aegis sea-based missile shield guarding America's Pacific fleet and carrier battle groups. This calls into question the diminishing of America's historic dominance of the seas and air, as stated by an American flag rank naval officer.

[Doug Robertson]

China first publicly flew their Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter at the Zhuhai airshow this week. Their intent is to market it globally, undercutting the Lockheed-Martin F-35 stealth Joint Strike Fighter in unit price.