The latest prototype of Chinese J-20 stealth fighter made debut on November 24th. Different from the previous versions, the No. 2017 J-20 jet was welcomed by some etiquette personnel with flowers on their hands, which might indicate the significance of this J-20 fighter jet.
No. 2017 J-20 jet’s cockpit is slightly different from previous prototypes, judging from its photos on the internet. Till now, China’s J-20 jet fighter has had six prototypes plus two demonstrators. And at least one tu-204 and one Y-8 act as radar electronic testers. Chinese military expert Li Xiaojian thinks this amount has been enough for trial flights of a new-type jet fighter.
Therefore, No. 2017 J-20 jet should be that last one prototype of this stealth fighter, and its design will be frozen for future small mass production.
Li Xiaojian also predicted that judging from J-20’s current amount and progress, a small batch of the jet might be offered to Chinese air force in 2017 for trial, and may enter service around 2020.
Li Xiaojian also pointed out that 117S engine of Su-35 will not be used for J-20, as J-20’s design didn’t consider this type of engine initially. And Su-35 will only be used for supplementing insufficient capacity of the fourth generation fighters of China.
