Photographs of a new fighter aircraft that have appeared on Chinese online forums are creating a buzz in military circles as they are the first indication that Beijing is close to getting an indigenous fifth generation fighter, barely a year after the first flight of the Russian T-50 PAK FA. While there is no official communication from the Chinese government, the set of photographs shows a large, stealthy fighter that borrows from both the F 22 Raptor — the only operational fifth generation fighter — and the F 35 fighter that is under development by the US.
The photographs started appearing on Chinese websites a few days ago, but were initially doubted as fakes as they were low resolution and grainy. However, several more clearer images have now appeared on various Chinese sites, forcing several experts to concede that the aircraft seems to be real.
While it could still be part of an elaborate hoax, this is not the first time that there has been a limited release of photographs that reveal a new Chinese military system. In the past, several systems, including nuclear submarines, have been revealed to the world through photographs that emerge on online forums.
Though it is still not clear when the aircraft, which has been spotted by enthusiasts at the Chengdu air base, will undertake its first flight, if reports by Chinese observers who have posted the photographs are true, it has already initiated taxi trials which are the run up to an actual test flight.
While there was no doubt that China would go in for a fifth generation fighter, what has come as a surprise is the pace of the programme. Latest US intelligence estimates had projected that the fighter would be ready only by 2018.
Earlier this month India signed a mega deal with Russia to jointly develop and produce a variant of the T-50 fifth generation fighters. While India is hoping that deliveries will start by 2017, the induction date could well go into the next decade.
The photographs started appearing on Chinese websites a few days ago, but were initially doubted as fakes as they were low resolution and grainy. However, several more clearer images have now appeared on various Chinese sites, forcing several experts to concede that the aircraft seems to be real.
Though it is still not clear when the aircraft, which has been spotted by enthusiasts at the Chengdu air base, will undertake its first flight, if reports by Chinese observers who have posted the photographs are true, it has already initiated taxi trials which are the run up to an actual test flight.
While there was no doubt that China would go in for a fifth generation fighter, what has come as a surprise is the pace of the programme. Latest US intelligence estimates had projected that the fighter would be ready only by 2018.
Earlier this month India signed a mega deal with Russia to jointly develop and produce a variant of the T-50 fifth generation fighters. While India is hoping that deliveries will start by 2017, the induction date could well go into the next decade.
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