Sakshi Tiwari
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) now operates 300 J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’ fifth-generation stealth fighters—a spectacular feat that shows how Beijing is expanding its production lines and accelerating deliveries at a breakneck speed.
The milestone was disclosed when a J-20 fighter jet sporting the construction number ‘CB10300’ was spotted at the site of the upcoming Changchun Air Show in Jilin province, between September 12 and 14, 2025.
China military aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht was among the first to post the image of the aircraft on social media. “It is assigned to the 19th Air Brigade and, even more important, finally it is one where the construction number is visible: CB10300, aka from Batch 10 & the 300th J-20 in total!” he wrote on X.
The J-20 entered mass production in 2017, with production catching up only in 2022. The aircraft production has now accelerated to 100-120 aircraft per year, aided by new assembly lines at Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
In contrast, Lockheed Martin produces nearly 150 F-35s annually, many of which are meant for international buyers.
Notably, the PLA watchers and analysts believe that this number is just the tip of the iceberg, and the total number of J-20s has likely surpassed 300.
Rick Joe, a popular PLA aviation analyst, wrote on X: “Important to note that ‘300th J-20 in total’ refers to this specific airframe being the 300th production J-20 airframe — not that there are a total of only 300 J-20 airframes at present (almost certain to be a bit more than 300 by now).”
Besides the J-20, China has also developed an upgraded variant of the aircraft called J-20A, and a two-seat variant called J-20S, which was recently unveiled at its Victory Day Parade.
The news was received with a mix of awe and disappointment in India, as several netizens and journalists subtly compared the Chinese capability with that of India. Sameer Joshi, a popular Indian journalist, quipped: “Quantity has now caught up with Quality.”
No comments:
Post a Comment