Fairly dull

  The J20 was an exciting revelation. For a very long time, there was nothing relating to the J20 except for some scraps of information being provided on the internet. At the time, the plane was called the JXX because people were still unsure what the PLA would name it. Most of the information released was purely rumor and photo shop. So it was quite interesting to discover that the actual J20 looked incredibly similar to all the fake images appearing on the net.

  When the first pictures were shown, some people expressed doubt. Personally, the blurry pictures looked too amateurish to be fake. Then the pictures became clearer and the question was not whether the plane was real, but whether or not it was a functional battle ready aircraft. Some claimed it was a wooden mock up. But that would be pretty embarrassing for the CCP. To show off a plane that could not actually fly. And finally, the plane flew. And that pretty much closed the debate. Those were some exciting two weeks.

  These days, there is not much to look forward to. Some new pictures of the WZ10 attack helicopter. But aside from killing journalists on the ground, what is the point? So until Shenyang responds to Chengdu's new aircraft. There is not much to look forward to until the release of the J16. Rumor has it, that the J16 is simply a modified stealth variant of the Sukhoi 27. Shenyang is the oldest design sector in AVIC and has always been pretty conservative in its air crafts. And that is not necessarily a good thing. Still, I would love to see what they come up with.