What You Need to Know: At the Zhuhai Air Show, China unveiled advancements in its fifth-generation warplanes, notably the J-20S, a tandem-pilot variant of the Chengdu J-20. Equipped for precision strikes, electronic warfare, and command operations, the J-20S can coordinate with unmanned aircraft, making it a versatile force multiplier.

-While China showcased a mockup of its “White Emperor” sixth-generation warplane, experts argue the J-20S represents China’s real commitment to modern air warfare.

-The development suggests that the PLAAF is enhancing fifth-gen capabilities, avoiding the heavy financial and developmental strain associated with a full sixth-gen platform, unlike the U.S.’s costly NGAD program.

China’s J-20S Fighter Stuns at Zhuhai Air Show – A Two-Seater Stealth Marvel

China’s Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong, China, continues wowing observers who came to see what technologies the Chinese (and other attendees, like Russia) had to display. Undoubtedly, the news about the stunning revelation of China’s CH-7 stealth drone, or the mock-up of China’s alleged sixth-generation warplane, the “White Emperor,” has led to great consternation from Western analysts (as well they should), the defining aspects of the Zhuhai Air Show have been the revelations of various fifth-generation warplane capabilities.

Big News Out of Zhuhai Air Show

First, the Russians, who had been mocked even by the Chinese before the start of the Air Show, silenced their critics with a remarkable display featuring their fifth-generation Su-57 warplane. After that, the Chinese showed off their answer to America’s F-35 Lightning II by revealing their J-35 fifth-generation warplane. 

It’s almost a spitting image of the American warplane (and with China’s manufacturing superiority, they can mass produce many more of these systems than can the Americans). Then, the Chinese showed off something incredible. The J-20S made its historic debut.

What makes the J-20S unique is that it is a tandem pilot plane. The salesmen for the Aviation Industry Corps of China who were at the Air Show enthused to the media that the J-20S “is characterized by its supreme ability to seize superiority in combat, carry out precision strikes against land and sea targets, and perform battlefield situational awareness, electronic jamming and tactical command and control operations.” 

Wu Jiwei, the spokesman for the Aviation Industry Corp of China added that, “the J-20S can team up with unmanned planes in air combat.” 

Hence, the important reveal of China’s CH-7 stealth drone. 

The Real Story is China’s Fifth-Generation Warplanes, Not Their Sixth-Generation Mockup

Some might argue that all these developments indicate the ultimate apotheosis of China’s next-generation air warfare capabilities coming out in the form of the sixth-generation “White Emperor” warplane. 

After all, what supposedly makes a sixth-generation bird so different from its fifth-generation counterparts are the underlying technologies, such as the inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) and the “Loyal Wingman” drone swarms that would fly alongside these planes and provide cover.

Yet, the J-20S is not a sixth-generation plane. It is in the same generations as the American F-22A Raptor and the Russian Su-57. This is why I remain skeptical that the Chinese sixth-generation platform is a serious investment for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). 

With the interesting J-20S, not only does Beijing have a unique plane (a two-seat fifth-generation bird), but they can easily incorporate many of the technological accoutrements from the sixth-generation warplane into their newer fifth-generation warplanes. 

A Two-Seater Nightmare for America 

The J-20S, based on the Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon,” will serve as a multirole stealth fighter that is designed to conduct ground attack or Electronic Warfare (EW) missions. What’s more, the J-20S is a command-and-control plane that will fly among a larger formation of manned and unmanned aircraft. 

Forget the absurd, comic book-like waste of money, time, and resources that are sixth-generation warplanes. China is showing the world how one can adapt existing fifth-generation warplane platforms for far less money to be able to conduct the same kind of operations as the sixth-generation warplanes are meant to. 

China is setting the standards now for next-level warfare. 

The Americans are still stuck in their procurement strategies from the twentieth century. China, meanwhile, is innovating capabilities while not blowing their peoples’ tax dollars on wasteful, redundant programs as the Americans are on their “Next Generation Air Dominance” (NGAD) sixth-generation warplane system. Americans should not underestimate the J-20S and the capabilities it will bring against its foes.

About the Author: 

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

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