Key Points and Summary – In a hypothetical air battle between two top-tier stealth fighters, Israel’s F-35I “Adir” is pitted against China’s J-20 “Mighty Dragon.”
-While the J-20 holds advantages in speed and sheer numbers, the F-35I is a combat-proven “flying supercomputer” with a devastating electronic warfare suite and the ability to incorporate mission data into software updates rapidly.
China J-20S Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-The J-20 and F-35I are evenly matched in a dogfight.
F-35I Adir vs. J-20: Who Wins?
Welcome to the modern age of the fighter, when two stealth airplanes could go up against one another in a win-or-die moment.
At National Security Journal, we have recently examined a number of fighter jet pairings to determine, in each case, which jet would win in combat. In this edition, we pit the Israeli F-35I Adir against the Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragon.
The F-35I is Israel’s top fighter and one of the best warbirds in the world.
It is highly stealthy, surprisingly agile, and great in hunter-killer mode or ground strike.
It was instrumental in Israel’s success against Iran during Operation Rising Lion.
F-35Is penetrated deep into enemy air space, destroyed many Iranian air-defense systems, and blasted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The F-35I Is Always in Beast Mode
The F-35I can be stuffed with munitions. The armaments start with Sidewinders and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) for dogfighting.
The Adir can be further outfitted with JDAMs, and F-35Is can also drop Spice weapons (1,000- and 2,000-pound precision-guided bombs), in addition to Delilah stand-off cruise missiles.
The Adir Gets Better After Each Mission
One of my favorite aspects of the F-35I is that the airplane can be turned around quickly upon returning from a mission to fly another sortie.
F-35I pilots’ feedback to ground crews is quickly incorporated into software updates, making the F-35I a “flying super computer.” This is one of the key differences between the F-35Is and American F-35s.
F-35I Adir. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
F-35I Adir. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Onboard data collection is robust on the F-35I. After on-the-ground analysis, mission data files are updated. The F-35I is then ready for another sortie, incorporating the lessons just learned.
Thanks to this dynamism, the F-35 can be made ready to face many different threats and perfect a variety of missions. It is an air superiority and multirole fighter. It could defend against enemy cruise missiles in one operation, then turn around and conduct surface strikes shortly after.
Only 40 F-35Is on Active Duty, But Israel Wants More
The F-35I is the Israeli Air Force’s only fifth-generation fighter. Engineers and technicians there have poured their heart and soul into the Adir, which is designed to respond to the unique challenges of operations in the Middle East.
There are only about 40 F-35Is, but they have been enough to make a difference in the skies over Iran.
The Adir’s electronic warfare suite has been instrumental in jamming and spoofing enemy air defenses, and later destroying them with bombs and missiles. The Iranians never knew the F-35Is were running circles around them.
Iran’s air force wasn’t able to launch the F-14 “Persian” Tomcats and obsolete F-4 Phantom IIs that the country used in the Iraq-Iran war decades ago.
China’s Number One Stealth Fighter, the J-20
The J-20 has many attributes as well. It is the first fifth-generation fighter to fly for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
China recently also introduced the J-35 stealth fighter, but the J-20 is China’s leading airframe.
The J-20 is built in superior numbers – there might be as many as 200 Mighty Dragons – or perhaps even 400. China could put up a mighty force against the F-35I, and Israeli pilots would be overwhelmed.
Who Wins in 4 Words: Tough to Make Call
Like the F-35I, the J-20 has a see-first, shoot-first capability. The airplanes are evenly matched during a dogfight. They are both stealthy, so initial radar discovery and search-and-track would be all-important.
Each pilot would be in a death struggle to find and fix the enemy in the sky. The J-20 also has a great sensor suite that rivals the F-35I’s.
Quick Comparison of Specs for Both Fighters
The Mighty Dragon has two WS-15 afterburning turbofan engines that generate 27,500 pounds of thrust each in afterburner mode. But the F-35I Pratt & Whitney is no pushover.
The F135 engine has more than 40,000 pounds of thrust. The J-20 has a top speed of Mach 2.0, while the F-35I tops out at Mach 1.6. The J-20 also has a range of 2,113 miles, while the F-35I has a combat radius of 1,350 miles – but external and droppable fuel tanks and aerial refueling can extend that range. This is what allowed the Adirs to strike Iran.
F-35I Adir Fighter. Image Credit: Israeli Air Force.
If I were an F-35I pilot, I would worry about the speed of the J-20 and the numbers of Mighty Dragons I would have to face. The Chinese could overwhelm the airspace with the aircraft.
The Americans have studied the F-35I’s progress and analyzed the lessons learned in Adir strikes against Iranian targets. The upgradable mission parameters after sorties are a significant innovation.
The base-model F-35A is already a flying computer, but the F-35I takes software and hardware power to a new level.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are training their pilots to push the J-20 right to the limits of its capabilities. Israeli aviators are more combat-tested and confident in their F-35Is.
Hopefully the Israelis can share some intelligence with their American allies, because an F-35 could indeed fly against a J-20 someday, and the United States needs all the help it can get if that happens.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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Krystal cane
August 31, 2025 at 8:02 pm
Well I have to hand it to the Israelis they’ve been used theirs to kill children for quite a while
Joseph K
September 1, 2025 at 12:24 pm
Combat tested against starving women and children. They didn’t very well against Iran as the yanks will be helping to rebuild for the next few decades.
And that’s despite combat proven iron dome, THAAD system and multiple US destroyers defending I ng Israel from cheap Iranian missiles.
Hans Schultz-Nielsen
September 2, 2025 at 11:37 pm
It’s pretty hard to honestly compare the capabilities of the two fighters because we really don’t know anything about the capabilities, battle systems, counter measures, sensor integration or loyal wingman capabilities of Chinese 5th generation aircraft. They certainly don’t let the capabilities of their aircraft be known
The Chinese have done nothing but surprise us with the sophistication and pace of emerging military equipment.
I still laugh every time I see the F-35 has been battle tested. I hardly consider Gaza, Syria or Iran to be worthy adversaries. The planes didn’t fly in until air defences were already destroyed and no airborne combat occurred. F-35 isnn9 more tested than the J-20
Marc
September 6, 2025 at 8:08 pm
Cute… Combat proven!…. that even a Eurofifhter nailed the F35 in one of the few joined exercises. But its a writer for a pro-US outlet, so what does one expect?