No problem. In fact the U.S. used the four generation designation system as well until Russia introduced the five generation system. Not wanting to be left behind, Lockheed latched on to the fifth generation designation for the F-22 as well.
J-20 5th Generation Fighter VII
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No problem. In fact the U.S. used the four generation designation system as well until Russia introduced the five generation system. Not wanting to be left behind, Lockheed latched on to the fifth generation designation for the F-22 as well.
This was straight up comedy when it first came out. Just using how Chinese classify J-20 as 4gen but also using how West i.e. NATO classify Rafale as 4.5gen and that's somehow proof Rafale > J-20, is probably the only take from Indian pundits that made me laugh more than it appalled me due to sheer stupidity.
It reminds me of how when you are asked to prove a theorem on an exam, don't know how to do it, and so you twist up all the axioms into false/contradicting statements and use it as your proof, to hope maybe the grader feels bad and gives you like 10% credit for trying or something
You can almost tell that even the writers of that piece don't believe the things they are writing. My mouth still burns from how sour the grapes were when I read that joke piece the first time. You'd do better to check the credibility of authors who make such claims in the future
Articles like this is also a test of the person reading it. Those that take it at face value you know they don't know much about fighter jets.
You've stumbled into a very famous meme in China about J-20 in particular and SFA in general. Let me explain:
30/07/2009 - US Congress pass resolution to scrape F-22 assembly line. The plan was for an eventual 187 F-22 to be produced, down from initial projection of 750. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense at the time argued two weeks prior to the resolution that F-22 was too expensive and anyway China will not have any 5th generation fighters by 2020, and only very small numbers by 2025 so there's nothing to be worried about. Obviously he based this on intelligence he had on hand at that time.
08/11/2009 - in a TV interview, PLAAF lieutenant general He Weirong admitted that there is in fact a 4th generation (China's way of counting, equivalent to US 5th generation, ie same as F-22 and F-35) fighter program within PLAAF and one would expect the plane to be in PLAAF service in 8-10 years. This caused a huge stir internationally because it directly ran counter to Gate's intelligence and his reason behind scrapping F-22 assembly line. Many expected readjustment from the US, perhaps keeping F-22 assembly open and resume production as a counter to this previously unknown PLAAF aircraft.
And then, begins the strategic deception:
On 23/11/2009, two weeks after He Weirong's interview, Xinhua released an article which explains that the "4th generation aircraft" mentioned by certain PLAAF personale in fact refers to a J-10 upgrade project.
On 25/11/2009, two days after the article in Xinhua, Global Times also comes out with an article saying the new aircraft program is an upgraded J-10, qualitatively different from US 5th generation aircraft like F-22 which possess stealth, supercruise and supermanoeuvrability.
On 29/11/2009, Zhang Zhaozhong was interviewed on TV in a now legendary interview about this mysterious aircraft and he famously said "this thing isn't a 4th generation fighter in the US sense, nor a 5th generation fighter in the Russian sense. We are just doing an upgrade based on J-10. If I were to understand J-10 as 3.5 generation then this thing would be about 3.7 or 3.8. Do you think 4th generation fighters are that easy to design? It took the US 22 years to come up with the F-22, we don't even have any plans for a 4th generation fighter currently, it's impossible for China."
08/01/2011, just prior to Robert Gates' trip to China he said "I understand China is developing a stealth aircraft, their progress may be more advanced than we initially suspected."
09/01/2011, Robert Gates lands in Beijing
11/01/2011, J-20's maiden flight, photo of Robert Gates at that time:
That night, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson said Chinese weapon development are not targeted at any country. Any timing issues are coincidence and not directed any anyone.
On December 2011, the last F-22 ever to be produced rolled off the assembly line. The assembly line was scrapped there after per congress resolution.
After the initial incident, He Weirong was demoted and shuffled onto some unimportant job, some sort of youth program I believe.
The meme survives to this day within China, where military fans would ironically refer to J-20 as "J-10+10", "J-10 Pro Max", "J-10++" etc etc
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Whatever China says it has and is up to, it has much more and much better in greater development state than one would suppose.
Whatever China shows, the rule generally was to have a replacement type already in testing.
Although this pattern may have changed a little now and become more showy in an effort to deter the US from over-estimating its capabilities against China and actually beginning a kinetic engagement, something China would much rather avoid. It could be a case of deterring morons in charge of US policy (they surprisingly are much worse than we give them credit for...honestly appallingly bad leaders) from killing both the US and China in one miscalculated move. Need to let the American hawks understand there is absolutely only death in engaging China in kinetic war. This is why China needs to eventually come out and officially disclose how large their minimum warhead count really is.
Whatever China shows, the rule generally was to have a replacement type already in testing.
Although this pattern may have changed a little now and become more showy in an effort to deter the US from over-estimating its capabilities against China and actually beginning a kinetic engagement, something China would much rather avoid. It could be a case of deterring morons in charge of US policy (they surprisingly are much worse than we give them credit for...honestly appallingly bad leaders) from killing both the US and China in one miscalculated move. Need to let the American hawks understand there is absolutely only death in engaging China in kinetic war. This is why China needs to eventually come out and officially disclose how large their minimum warhead count really is.
This incident roughly coincided with the CIA having its entire personnel network botched in China, with many agents executed. Look back 10 years later, it appeared that Beijing significantly outmaneuvered Washington during the 2010-2012 period.
If you play a hand of poker, you don't let your opponent know what you have, but keep them guessing. Why should China let US hawks know what minimum nuclear warheads they possess?
Displeased with the J-10G, I see...
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