Free Republic

The maiden flight of China's new stealth jet fighter humbled those officials and observers who initially dismissed the possibility that the country could come up with such a sophisticated weapon any time soon. It was strikingly demonstrated that neither the intelligence apparatus of the United States nor that of Taiwan had a clue about the speed of Chinese advances. Unnoticed by Beijing's adversaries, the J-20's engineers have mastered advanced stealth-shaping techniques, and even if mass production still lies a few years ahead, it is understood that the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in the foreseeable future will have...