This past Monday, intelligence officials from the United States received word from sources within China that the J-20 stealth fighter took its first test flight. From grainy cell phone pictures, analysts have determined that the J-20 is a twin-engine fighter that is larger, faster, and more mobile than its closest counterpart – the U.S.’s F-22.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has previously gone on record stating that the Chinese would not have a fighter plane similar to the F-22 until at least 2025. The test flight of the J-20, confirmed by Chinese President Hu Jintao, shows that China has defied experts and is ready to launch a fleet of advanced stealth aircrafts to challenge the capabilities of the U.S. and its allies in the region.
The development of the J-20 is not the most significant new piece of hardware that the Chinese have developed. The Chinese have been working on the Dong Feng 21D, an anti-ship ballistic missile or ASBM, for over five years. The missile could theoretically disable an American aircraft carrier as far away as Guam, which is 1,800 miles away.
Such technology is based off the ballistic missile technology China showed off in 2007 when it successfully destroyed an orbiting satellite. This event scared private investors and military leaders when they realized that China now had the capability of destroying the massive satellite network that is the backbone of modern militaries. Such technology is considered so destructive to global security that it is banned by multiple treaties and U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Every single defensive and offensive technology that the Chinese are developing has the single goal of preventing the U.S. military from operating in the region. The United States is the only country that operates a fleet of advanced stealth flight aircraft and, of the 181 in its arsenal, very few are in Asia.
The main purpose of a stealth aircraft is to evade enemy radar in an offensive operation. It is more likely to be used as an offensive weapon than a defensive one.
Additionally, the ASBM is specifically designed to immobilize aircraft carriers. The United States is the only nation that has the ability to operate a carrier fleet in Asia. This would infer that this technology is being designed as deterrent to the United States.
At the same time, China’s first aircraft carrier will begin operations in 2012 with two more coming by the end of the decade. Unlike China, the U.S. doesn’t have an anti-carrier weapon.
The United States is responsible, by numerous treaties, to defend our allies in Asia, such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. This arrangement is similar to the U.S.’s support of its NATO allies during the latter half of the 20th Century.
To comply with its obligations, the United States has no choice but to ramp up its armed forces. However, Secretary Gates has decided that the U.S. should not prepare for another major military conflict. It was such preparedness that prevented the Russians from ever striking the West, and the same preparedness may prevent China from one day becoming more aggressive in the Asia/Pacific region.
Even though the J-20 took its first test flight this month, the U.S. military has known about the program for a while. In the meantime, the Obama administration has characteristically decided to embrace the smaller, unproven, slower and less capable F-35 jet over the F-22, a program they have proposed eliminating. The F-35, which had its blueprints leaked to the Chinese, is easy bait for the J-20.
It is time for President Obama and Secretary Gates to take the long-term view, and begin preparing us for distant threats. Every conflict will not be against terrorists in Afghanistan armed with shotguns and homemade explosives. We must prepare for more modern warfare against more conventional threats.
Ryan Flamerich is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering.
