Key Points and Summary – In a significant and provocative show of force, China has revealed that its J-20 “Mighty Dragon” stealth fighter flew through the heavily monitored Tsushima Strait near Japan, apparently completely undetected, at least according to Beijing.
-The news was broken not by Western intelligence, but by Chinese state TV, which openly boasted about the mission.
J-20S Fighter from X Screenshot. Image Credit: X.
-The flight through a potential dense network of U.S., Japanese, and South Korean radar systems, including the powerful THAAD anti-missile system, would seem to represent a significant failure of allied air defenses. However, there is reason to be skeptical of China’s framing of the incident.
-The incident comes as a new two-seat variant of the J-20 appears to be entering service.
China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Makes Some History
In an apparent first, China’s J-20 stealth fighter, known as the “Mighty Dragon,” flew through the Tsushima Strait near Japan.
The reason for this was a brief mention on Chinese state TV.
According to a report earlier this week from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), state broadcaster CCTV reported this week that the First Fighter Brigade, which includes the J-20 fighter, “flies missions over the Bashi Channel and Tsushima Strait, and conducts patrols around Taiwan.”
SCMP reported that the J-20’s appearance in that area is an apparent first and that it was “not reported by any other armed forces with a presence in the region.” Footage of the J-20 was shown throughout the CCTV segment, according to the report.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, Alaska, during Flight Experiment THAAD (FET)-01 on July 30, 2017 (EDT). During the test, the THAAD weapon system successfully intercepted an air-launched, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) target.
The Tsushima Strait, located between Japan and South Korea, is the site of a major battle in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
Per SCMP, the strait is “within the range of a dense network of US, Japanese, and South Korean radar systems, including the US THAAD anti-missile system.” None reported that they had seen the J-20 jet.
However, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt, as it’s very possible U.S. and allied forces saw the J-20 and did not brief the media or leak it. Alternatively, China may be exaggerating some aspect of the flight plan.
Two-Seater J-20 Fighter in Service
Earlier this month, the War Zone had reported that the two-seat version of the J-20 appears to be in operational service, or close to it.
“A flurry of new images showing the two-seat variant of China’s J-20 stealth fighter has emerged online. As well as providing new views of the two-seater, which also now wears a darker paint scheme, recent imagery published on Chinese social media reveals the progress being made in other fighter programs, including the J-35 family of carrier-based and land-based stealth fighters,” TWZ reported on the Mighty Dragon.
J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Chinese Weibo.
Making room for a second cockpit, the report said, entailed redesigning the forward fuselage.
“While the J-20S was officially unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow last year, there are rumors that it might be publicly unveiled as an operational PLAAF asset in September of this year, when the service marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II,” The War Zone reported.
“Rumors that a two-seat version of the J-20 was under development first emerged in early 2018, and the existence of the aircraft was confirmed beyond doubt by October 2021, when a prototype was noted undertaking high-speed taxi tests.”
It’s not clear, however, what the exact purpose of the two-seater J-20 is.
“With no equivalent two-seat stealth fighter in any Western inventory, the exact purpose of the J-20 has long been a source of debate. Some early assessments suggested it might be intended for electronic warfare, although this mission set is now very much the realm of the J-16D, a Chinese version of the Sukhoi Flanker multirole fighter. Of course, this could change in the future,” TWZ reported.
J-20 with PL-15 Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Per a recent Simple Flying report, while China exports fighter jets to other countries, it does not do so with the J-20.
A Submarine Appears, Too
The report about the J-20’s venture towards Japan comes just days after a report from USNI News, citing Japanese officials, that a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Dakai-class submarine rescue ship had been spotted, also in the Tsushima Strait.
“The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed the sighting of a PLAN ship bearing hull number 841 as it sailed east around 205 miles west of Japan’s Goto Islands. The Chinese ship sailed northeast through the Tsushima Strait to enter the Sea of Japan, according to the Japan Joint Staff Office. Maritime patrol aircraft from JMSDF Kanoya Air Base on the main island of Kyushu and Fleet Air Wing 4 based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi on the main island of Honshu shadowed the PLAN ship, according to the release.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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