Key Points and Summary – In a head-to-head comparison, China’s J-20 “Mighty Dragon” exhibits several notable advantages over the American F-22 Raptor, including a higher top speed, greater payload, and superior side-aspect stealth capabilities.
-However, the F-22 remains the superior dogfighter with better frontal stealth and maneuverability.
-The J-20’s most significant weaknesses are its lack of a cannon and, most critically, its complete absence of combat experience.
-The “intangibles”—decades of U.S. pilot combat wisdom and a proven design legacy—give the F-22 a decisive, battle-born edge that the J-20 simply cannot match.
J-20 vs. F-22: Which is the Better Stealth Fighter?
The Cold War was more than a battle of political ideologies and economic systems. It was also a battle for technological superiority and bragging rights.
Competition ranged from the space race to the effort to field the best submarines and main battle tanks.
In the skies, deadly clashes pitted the F86 Sabre against the MiG-15 during the Korean War; the F-4 Phantom II against the MiG-21 “Fishbed” during the Vietnam War; and the F-15 Eagle versus the MiG-29 “Fulcrum” during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
F-22 Raptor National Security Journal Image
Some foreign policy pundits argue that we are now in a New Cold War, and it has brought a third major player to the jet fighter game: the People’s Republic of China. During the original Cold War, Beijing imported Soviet-made fighters or produced license-built versions of the same. But now China builds plenty of homegrown warbirds.
Their efforts are exemplified by the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon, an aircraft that gave China, and not Russia, bragging rights as the second country to field an operational fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.
F-22 Raptor. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
In any future U.S.-China conflict, the J-20 would go head-to-head with two U.S. stealth fighters, so National Security Journal will compare the J-20 to both.
We will start by comparing the J-20 with the world’s first fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor.
J-20 Advantages
According to Wiley Stickney, writing for Bolt Flight, the Chinese warplane has several advantages over the Raptor:
-It is less expensive and requires less maintenance.
-It has superior side and rear-angle stealth.
-Its max airspeed of Mach 2.8 is significantly faster than the Raptor’s Mach 2.25.
-It has slightly superior supercruise speed (Mach 1.8 vs. Mach 1.76).
-It has a larger payload
-Its superior data-link capabilities make it better suited for modern information-centric warfare
-The J-20 is still in production, while F-22 production was halted in 2009.
F-22 Raptor Advantages
The F-22 on the other hand:
-Is superior in frontal stealth.
-Has superior maneuverability for close-range dogfighting.
-Has thrust-vectoring nozzles that allow extreme post-stall maneuvers, such as the cobra maneuver.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor backs away from a KC-135 Stratotanker after conducting an in-flight refueling during a training mission over central New Mexico on Oct. 23, 2013. The Raptor is assigned to the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The Stratotanker is assigned to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. DoD photo by Airman 1st Class John Linzmeier, U.S. Air Force. (Released)
-Boasts the APG-77 active electronically scanned array radar, which provides excellent detection and tracking range.
Armament-wise, the Mighty Dragon lacks a cannon. That makes it unique among the operational stealth fighters, as its U.S. counterparts and the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-57 “Felon” still have a cannon. The F-22’s blaster is a single 20-mm General Dynamics M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon with 480 rounds of ammunition.
Although some pundits believe supersonic jet fighters do not need guns, aircraft-mounted guns have proved their usefulness against enemies’ unmanned aerial weapon systems. For example, on Dec. 13, 2024, a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 pilot became a national hero when he shot down six Russian cruise missiles in a single sortie. Well, two of those kills were in fact obtained with the plane’s Vulcan.
What’s more, a fighter plane could still use its gun in an air-to-ground role, such as strafing enemy troop formations during close air support duties. The J-20, by lacking a gun, inherently lacks this sort of multirole versatility.
In 4 Words: F-22 Has Seen Combat
Another thing that differentiates the J-20 from the F-22, F-35, and Su-57 is that the Chinese warbird has yet to see combat. This is not surprising, since China has not fought a major war since its 1979 invasion of Vietnam. The F-22 has indeed been used in combat. In September 2014, the Raptor conducted some of the opening strikes of Operation Inherent Resolve, dropping 1,000-pound GPS-guided bombs on ISIS militants near Syria’s Tishrin Dam. And on Feb. 4, 2023, the F-22 got its first air-to-air kill – appropriately enough, it was against a Chinese aerial asset, namely that infamous Chinese spy balloon.
That experience differential undoubtedly carries over to the quality of training. While the People’s Liberation Army Air Force puts its fighter pilots through an intensive training regime – as evidenced by their shows of force in the Taiwan Strait – their senior pilots lack any combat experience to pass on to new trainees.
By contrast, U.S. Air Force pilots have seen combat during every decade going back to the 1940s, which provides a huge database of after action reports used for constant improvement and refinement of tools, tactics, and training (as exemplified by the U.S. Air Force Weapons School). There is a talent pool of instructor pilots who have actually “seen the elephant” and can pass their battle-born wisdom to the next generation of fighter jocks, including F-22 pilots.
J-20 Fighter Image. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
J-20 on the Tarmac. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
J-20 Fighter 2025 Photo. Image Credit: Chinese Military.
J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Weibo.
What’s more, the Raptor has history on its side. Its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works division, has an 80-year track record of producing innovative warplanes, including the P-38 Lightning, the F-80 Shooting Star, the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-117 Nighthawk (the first so-called stealth fighter, although it wasn’t a fighter at all). By contrast, Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, while a venerable company that was founded in 1958, does not boast a similar litany of history-making military aircraft.
Those intangibles give the F-22 a huge advantage over the J-20.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
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Steven Hutchinson
August 2, 2025 at 7:19 am
Truth is no comparison at any level and you know it.
Aaron Houser
August 2, 2025 at 9:39 am
They dont even know that the j20 is capable of Super cruise or not and they are still using a variant of Russian Saturn 4th gen engines in it. Their domestic product isn’t even finished with pre production mock up. So the rear stealth advantage over the f22 is also 10000% untrue and they know this for certain. This guy should remove his head from his back side!! I’d also like to see the documentation stating the j20 is more stealthy from the side as well….. I bet thats b.s. as well. This guy is a dump truck!!
Steven F
August 2, 2025 at 10:29 am
“Modern analysts readily debate whether stealth fighters even need cannons in this day age.” (Or something along those lines) Maybe modern analysts who don’t understand the future of aerial combat. Because when it comes to aerial combat of tomorrow, anyone who actually knows anything, knows that cannon just might be the ONLY weapon you can actually count on to splash that bandit. Because tomorrow’s battles will almost certainly (at least the top of the food chain show offs) be trapped within visual range with no lock-on thanks to jamming and ECM. So, unless you’re going to drop an Unguided Bomb Unit on top of that guy’s fuselage (ridiculous), then that cannon is the ONLY thing that is guaranteed to find it’s target. So when the Raptor and Dragon suddenly find themselves face to face (or face to rear) and that HUD is scrambled, what’s that Dragon going to do? Besides use it’s potentially non-existent “higher” Supecruise to run away like the headless chicken it is? Slightly slower Supecruise + 20mm Vulcan beats running slightly faster anyday of the week. Plus, the J-20B does have thrust vectoring, at least, according to civilian-readily available information. I think that’s all I have today. Over exerted myself yesterday and woke up on the wrong side of the bed. This is my brain seeing double through a layer of fog, at that. So maybe I’m missing something. But then again, I’m just a civilian sabotaged in my youth by a female. So what do I know? Besides all this race to develop the next killer manned craft is a wasted of time. Autonomous drones are the future: they have 10X faster reaction speeds, 10X the High-G limits, 10X the numbers, ⅓ of the size (smaller RCS), and outright unpredictable maneuver abilities. Cause let’s face it, a competent pilot facing off against another competent pilot can probably guess what the other will do in any given situation. Cause there’s only about a handful of things you CAN do without pushing past 9 G’s. Drones don’t have that problem, so long as the fuselage can take it (newer ones will). And yes, they are very vulnerable to the aforementioned EWS/ECM, but hardwired High-fidelity imaging systems can’t really be blocked cause there is no returning telemetry. Unless you’re absorbing light? But then you’d be a vanta black spec flying around. Manned fighters ONLY have a place at the outskirts of the tomorrow’s AO, acting as the quarterback and picking off fleeing hostiles. But then again, I’m nothing more than a civilian who missed his calling via sabotage by fate and “I do.”
Nate Garmin
August 2, 2025 at 11:00 am
The F-22 & 35 are the greatest fighter jets…until a balloon floats over the continental US. Then the Air Force can’t figure out how to take it down, even with the most advanced fighters in history. So they let it go until it reaches the ocean. But don’t worry, no military in the world can compare to the mighty USA’s.
Steven Ferguson
August 2, 2025 at 11:09 am
I guess I should probably add Light Wave Refraction/Bending could potentially jam imaging systems, but then again, if they have that, we have bigger issues than just some jammed sensors. Like our skies could be blocked out by their bombers and we wouldn’t even know it. Who cares what’s happening in that AO three thousand miles away when you have ten thousand invisible hostile bombers loaded for bear over your home? Plus, even the most advanced light bending techniques would still cause minor distortion visible close-in. So even with a “cloak”, a high powered imaging suite would still detect the blur. Without a cannon, that fighter is nothing but a Paper Dragon. See what I did there? If they remove the cannon from the NGAD (I refuse to call it F-47 cause I don’t stroke egos: I step on them with the voracity of Smokey stamping out a spreading forest fire [Sigma male eats Alpha male for breakfast]), then I’m packing my crap and moving to Norway. Maybe the Netherlands. But then again, I enjoy swimming.
Luis Orlando Gomez
August 2, 2025 at 11:23 am
The only asset Chinese do is steal copy and produce copy everything from the c 5 galaxy f35 f22 and tried to copy f16. Copies can never out perform the real deal. As we’ve seen in the Indian and Pakistan mini conflict most or all of Chinese weapons got wiped out ,most recently in Iran. Temu weapons! Lmao
Steven FN
August 2, 2025 at 11:24 am
Nate, oh how I wish that reply button worked so I could set your record straight: they did NOT wait until it was over ocean for incompetence facing reasons. They waited until it was over the ocean because of so many reasons: including, but not limited to: to ensure its splash down didn’t harm civilians and infrastructure. You can’t control the falling trajectory of a giant platform from 90K feet plus. It will simply fall wherever those head winds take it. Completely unpredictable, unless you’re falling with it. Then, what are you going to do besides go “Oh, crap! oh, crap! Oh, crap! Humptey-Dumpty-One is going down!” Secondly, it was to ensure it splashed down over ocean to exponentially increase its chances of remaining somewhat intact on splash down for data pull. If they would’ve dropped it over land (even uninhabited desert) then the sensor suite and SSD would’ve smashed into a million pieces: we would have NEVER known what they captured. Yeah, they might have received some extra data thanks to our waiting, but at least now we know what they captured. When you have two choices: stop data collection and remain oblivious, or: hide the sensitive stuff in between here and there and let it reach a survive-able descent, you go with the latter. Cause we can always adjust our methods to alter the aspects they recorded, but if we have NO idea what they collected, then suddenly, every system under its trajectory becomes too dangerous to use because you have no idea what they have on it. We have ICBM’s that can exit the atmosphere with the ease of a frog leaping between Lily-pads. You really think we were incapable of downing that ballon? Waiting was a choice. Not a necessity. And it was the right choice. One of the best the DoD has made in a while. Probably because they actually had the authority to make that call without micro-management. Or, they were probably given it, I should say. Not that Thai matters, cause it’s not like the Reply button actually works or anything. So I’m just taking to myself and the outsider perspective. I guess this is what it feels like when your voice gets lost in the wind, no matter how hard you scream.
Steven F
August 2, 2025 at 11:41 am
Now, I’m just wondering why on God’s Green Earth my comments are pending moderation? I don’t curse. I don’t name call. I have no access to confidential/ classified information (Google is my ONLY confidant), and believe it or not, this is me being polite & cordial. If you believe otherwise, then you REALLY don’t want to see me angry and motivated. Cause I absolutely destroy and devastate. Whoever invented the adage: sticks and stones, has never felt the sting of my fighting tongue. I can destroy more thoroughly with mere words with greater mission success than an entire squadron of Mighty (Paper) Dragons loaded for bear on their best days. So why am I suddenly being moderated? I honestly felt my input was relevant, on target, and cordial. Now I’m consuming my initial comment in a never-ending loop trying to figure out how I offended in the first place to get flagged for manual moderation prior to posting? I do not understand. Is it cause I bashed the Reply button? I’ll leave it alone. I didn’t know it had the skin of a toddler. I’m sorry, button. Take all the sick days you need. I’ll leave you be. I actually like this site and visit it everyday. But if I can’t comment, where’s the fun in that? This is as close to intelligent conversation as I can find these days. Everyone else wants to talk about nothing but themselves, rap, football, and reality TV. Yuck.
Steven F
August 2, 2025 at 11:47 am
This is a test (prior moderated comment above [changed my username to reflect my last name, then changed it again to include the first and last letter of my surname, both are now trapped in moderation]): Nate, oh how I wish that reply button worked so I could set your record straight: they did NOT wait until it was over ocean for incompetence facing reasons. They waited until it was over the ocean because of so many reasons: including, but not limited to: to ensure its splash down didn’t harm civilians and infrastructure. You can’t control the falling trajectory of a giant platform from 90K feet plus. It will simply fall wherever those head winds take it. Completely unpredictable, unless you’re falling with it. Then, what are you going to do besides go “Oh, crap! oh, crap! Oh, crap! Humptey-Dumpty-One is going down!” Secondly, it was to ensure it splashed down over ocean to exponentially increase its chances of remaining somewhat intact on splash down for data pull. If they would’ve dropped it over land (even uninhabited desert) then the sensor suite and SSD would’ve smashed into a million pieces: we would have NEVER known what they captured. Yeah, they might have received some extra data thanks to our waiting, but at least now we know what they captured. When you have two choices: stop data collection and remain oblivious, or: hide the sensitive stuff in between here and there and let it reach a survive-able descent, you go with the latter. Cause we can always adjust our methods to alter the aspects they recorded, but if we have NO idea what they collected, then suddenly, every system under its trajectory becomes too dangerous to use because you have no idea what they have on it. We have ICBM’s that can exit the atmosphere with the ease of a frog leaping between Lily-pads. You really think we were incapable of downing that ballon? Waiting was a choice. Not a necessity. And it was the right choice. One of the best the DoD has made in a while. Probably because they actually had the authority to make that call without micro-management. Or, they were probably given it, I should say. Not that Thai matters, cause it’s not like the Reply button actually works or anything. So I’m just taking to myself and the outsider perspective. I guess this is what it feels like when your voice gets lost in the wind, no matter how hard you scream
Steven F
August 2, 2025 at 11:49 am
The original moderated comment with full last name, a continuation of my first comment, added to say: I guess I should probably add Light Wave Refraction/Bending could potentially jam imaging systems, but then again, if they have that, we have bigger issues than just some jammed sensors. Like our skies could be blocked out by their bombers and we wouldn’t even know it. Who cares what’s happening in that AO three thousand miles away when you have ten thousand invisible hostile bombers loaded for bear over your home? Plus, even the most advanced light bending techniques would still cause minor distortion visible close-in. So even with a “cloak”, a high powered imaging suite would still detect the blur. Without a cannon, that fighter is nothing but a Paper Dragon. See what I did there? If they remove the cannon from the NGAD (I refuse to call it F-47 cause I don’t stroke egos: I step on them with the voracity of Smokey stamping out a spreading forest fire [Sigma male eats Alpha male for breakfast]), then I’m packing my crap and moving to Norway. Maybe the Netherlands. But then again, I enjoy swimming.
Steven FGN
August 2, 2025 at 11:58 am
Dear Moderator, I realized my comments were flagged because I kept changing my username. I simply wanted to add my surname, as I originally did not because I didn’t think you guys would like us revealing our full names. So could you please simply delete my moderated comments with different names? As I reposted them under my original handle. And possibly delete my comment talking about how I’m moderated? Cause I don’t want to offend you guys. Like I said, I LOVE your site. And I am a VERY picky award winning writer (Young Author’s Association [18+ years ago], also scored in 99th percentile in LA Writing and Reading on high-school graduation test), so for me to enjoy your work, you are absolutely doing something right. Multiple things. So please don’t let my banter offend. I simply jest. No weirdo, but I love you guys. Your writing. I mean, I love your writing. Jeez. Not having a good morning. Hope your’s is better. Comments posted under handles: Steven Ferguson | Steven FN | & moderated mention comment is under Steven F | Thank you. Sorry for adding to your work. I’d delete them if I could.
Steve
August 2, 2025 at 1:36 pm
These 2 will never “see” each other in combat. All engagements will be over the horizon by our design and doctrine. If they find themselves in visual range, they have failed. Frontal stealth is key to a head to head engagement: Aquire, dump missiles and leave to fight another day. A $2M missile is far cheaper than an unreplaceable $143M F22 compared to a cheaper and current assembly line production J20.
Me
August 2, 2025 at 2:16 pm
Killing a balloon and dropping a bomb is not combat experience.
You look ridiculous, btw.
Aaron
August 2, 2025 at 3:57 pm
The J20 doesn’t have a radar cross section, it has a radar ZIP CODE. The F22 is called the Mach 2 bumble bee for a reason. We haven’t needed to use the F22, which is probably a good thing. Rather not have it full into enemy hands, which is also why the Kid is not exported (Congress made that illegal).
The F22 has no near peers. Anything Russia or China claim are pure fantasy and people buying into their propaganda just take it hook, line and sinker.
Neo
August 2, 2025 at 4:20 pm
The F-22 is an older generation fighter jet that is far behind in modern information and network capabilities. In contrast, China’s J-35, J-20 even J-19 lead in modern technology across multiple aspects. Nowadays, beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat no longer demands the extremely high maneuverability that was once thought necessary, making it hard to imagine two stealth fighters engaging in close-range dogfights at high speed. What’s laughable is that they still rely heavily on pilot experience as the primary factor when comparing the two aircraft. Many proud Americans have yet to fully recognize this reality. The recent conflicts between India and Pakistan have still failed to awaken most Americans to this fact. The rise of a great power often requires a defining event that clearly signals to the world that the balance of power has shifted.Yet such a confrontation has never actually occurred.
Tom
August 2, 2025 at 4:59 pm
Japan had zero combat experience in WW2 and their airforce was still formidable. Bombing the middle east is not air to air combat. The US hasn’t had to fight for air superiority against an even remotely equipped opponent since Vietnam.
These are facts
However, Americans just seem to be culturally geared for war, time will tell unfortunately, which is better.
I still think the F-22 is the best dog fighter available today.
However with the advent of long range mach 10-15 anti ship missiles, it might not have anywhere to land even after establishing air dominance.
Hopefully, common sense prevails and we only ever since here speculating about these two machines.
Or better yet we just get an AI powerful enough to actually simulate real time who would win
Dragan
August 3, 2025 at 6:57 am
Lmfao combat experience in the F22?????
It shot down a weather balloon!!!!
Please be less biased it is unbecoming and annoying.
Some truth across the board would be greatly appreciated.
Nunya biznazz
August 3, 2025 at 12:03 pm
“Has seen combat” is not a strength, it just means that the US are war mongers and China isn’t. Wish that the world never had nuclear weapons so that the US war machine could f*** around and find out when they go up against a country that actually matches their military technology instead of just bombing the $#!+ out of much smaller countries that are using dated US or Soviet hardware. If the US really tries to engage China in conventional warfare in the South China sea which we all know is where a war between these two countries would take place because US global imperialism. The entire US navy would get sunk. The US already knows this too since they use some of the world’s fastest super computers to run war simulations rather than for the benefit of mankind and every single simulation they’ve won the US loses or both. I assume both losing means a nuclear war in which both countries are completely destroyed along with the planet because of nuclear the enormous amount of nuclear fallout not to mention the enormous loss of carbon eating eating oxygen creating vegetation.
Nunya Biznazz
August 3, 2025 at 12:10 pm
Goddamn it, I can’t edit my typos. Was typing this on my phone laid up in bed with an injured back. *Done* instead of “won”
Ivan Drago
August 3, 2025 at 12:57 pm
they’re really boasting the Raptor’s military experience with 1 sortie, dropping 1,000 lb bomb on some idiot terrorist’s and shooting down a balloon. U.S. not as tough as they think they are. In Russia where I at they not survive. Da Russia
Bowser
August 3, 2025 at 4:12 pm
To F-22 enthusiasts, be careful not to drink your own bath water. The F-22 is an old aircraft, certainly with today’s rapid growth of technology. Dogfights might still occur, but less likely than in WWII. You can’t pick comparative factors so that “your’s” comes out better than the “other guy’s”. Might boost your ego, but doesn’t boost your security.
Gujjar
August 4, 2025 at 9:19 am
Interestingly the US and EU fighters always label, boasts battle proven while every time using international pressure to have free & empty battlefield skies. So all should consider this aspect too. The US & EU always use media to influence & impose their thoughts. Always praising their own.
David Bligh
August 7, 2025 at 9:30 am
The Mighty Dragon doesn’t have to be superior one-on-one. “Quantity has a quality of its own.” Since human life is cheap to communists, they can flood the skies with crap machines and expendable pilots.
Jay
August 27, 2025 at 9:45 pm
“What’s more, a fighter plane could still use its gun in an air-to-ground role, such as strafing enemy troop formations during close air support duties. The J-20, by lacking a gun, inherently lacks this sort of multirole versatility.”
Buddy, if you’re taking a stealth fighter on a CAS strafing run, you’ve horribly mismanaged your priorities and your resources. Just like the USAF would never ask a Raptor to use its Vulcan to strafe ground troops – it puts an air superiority airframe in a spot where it should never be, and there are better tools for the damn job.
Denis R.
September 2, 2025 at 4:02 pm
Considering the only reason China (and no I will never call it the People Republic of China) is that they want to take over a good portion of the world surface just as surely as the Nazis and Japanese did during WW II. Except that this endeavor would be fraught with challenges that the axis power never had to face. The world is united against any aggressor willing to go this route even if it’s China. if they try their little stunt that they have never been coy to talk about in the last 30 years. What they want is land for “Their citizens” (I don’t believe that part) but they want to be an empire and be known as the premiere superpower, despite the fact that in the past the USA as always been a friend and an ally. In other words, Russia and China both have delusion of grandeur. Neither is happy to be number 2 or 3. They want to be first, even if they have to go to war against the USA. They think that communism is a better system and despise countries where the citizens are free to think as they wish and have freedom that they are not willing their citizens to have as this could weaken their grip on their nations. Well that my take on both of those two dictatorships.
Vincent nguyen
September 28, 2025 at 11:32 pm
With recent shotdown of Indian Rafale by Pakistan J10, the discussion focused on the AA missile ranges and stealth offered by superior radar. It seems to me future air to air encounters matters less on dogfighting but long arm punches…
So superior detection of enemy by radar coupled with longer range missile would guarantee victory.