China Military Watch

‘Mighty Dragon’ enters mass production

China has announced the beginning of mass production of the J-20B ‘Mighty Dragon’ fifth-generation fighter. The J-20B is an upgrade of the J-20A and adds vectored thrust-engine technology for increased manoeuvrability during air combat within visual range, which is intriguing because it implies that the PLA Air Force still sees ‘dogfighting’ as important.

Although many Western air forces are emphasising stealth technology and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile engagements over short-range air combat, there’s still a need to be able to dogfight. The addition of vectored thrust...