January 26, 2025, 3:03 pm
There was a time when the USA held a practical monopoly over stealthy combat aircraft. In late December 2024, the PRC showed off two in a single day – one of which doesn’t appear to have a direct, active equivalent in the US or any allied air force.
Today, I discuss these new aircraft with guest contributor Justin Bronk of the The Royal United Services Institute and ask what they might mean both for the modernisation of the PLAAF and the wider military balance.
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU
Reading and Sourcing :
Professor Justin Bronk – RUSI biography
https://rusi.org/people/bronk
Tyler Rogoway (2020) – The Alarming Case of the USAF’s Mysteriously Missing Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles
https://www.twz.com/3889/the-alarming-case-of-the-usafs-mysteriously-missing-unmanned-combat-air-vehiclesv
Previous video – 6th Generation Fighters
Previous video – missiles
J-36 Reporting
Experts: New Chinese Combat Aircraft Likely a Medium-Range Bomber
https://thediplomat.com/2024/12/j-36-assessing-chinas-new-generation-combat-aircraft/
Experts: New Chinese Combat Aircraft Likely a Medium-Range Bomber
JH-XX
https://www.twz.com/air/yes-china-just-flew-another-tailless-next-generation-stealth-combat-aircraft
J-35
https://www.twz.com/air/land-based-variant-of-chinas-j-35-naval-stealth-fighter-makes-sens
AGM-88G
https://www.twz.com/27866/usaf-f-35as-will-get-navys-new-air-defense-busting-missile-amid-talk-of-anti-ship-variants
US DOD – Summary of the JADC2 Strategy
https://media.defense.gov/2022/Mar/17/2002958406/-1/-1/1/SUMMARY-OF-THE-JOINT-ALL-DOMAIN-COMMAND-AND-CONTROL-STRATEGY.pdf
Captain Joel Davis USN (Retired) & Vice Admiral Brian Brown USN (Retired) – Campaigning Through the WEZ: CJADC2 Is More than Kill-Chains
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/sponsored/campaigning-through-wez-cjadc2-more-kill-chains
J-20 Production reporting:
https://defence-blog.com/china-increases-j-20-stealth-fighter-jet-production/
Reporting on PRC UCAV development
https://www.twz.com/air/no-flying-wing-ucavs-being-developed-by-u-s-publicly-while-china-surges-ahead
Murder Hornet designation
https://www.twz.com/air/murder-hornet-nickname-for-f-a-18s-equipped-with-nine-air-to-air-missiles-now-official
https://www.twz.com/air/navy-posts-its-first-aim-174-missile-armed-f-a-18f-super-hornet-glamour-shots
Featured images of AGM-174B
AIM-174/AIM-120 Size Comparison [Album]
byu/RobinOldsIsGod inWarplanePorn
AIM-120 vs AIM-260 in future inventory planning
Raytheon: AMRAAM and JATM Missiles ‘Complementary’ for Future Force Mix
CJADC2 initial capability
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3683482/hicks-announces-delivery-of-initial-cjadc2-capability/
PLA Counterspace Command and Control (2023)
https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/PLASSF/2023-12-11%20Counterspace-%20web%20version.pdf
Jonathan McDowell – Space Activities in 2022
https://planet4589.org/space/papers/space22.pdf
Jonathan McDowell – Space Activities in 2024
https://planet4589.org/space/papers/space24.pdf
2022 Chinese military satellite launches
https://breakingdefense.com/2023/01/china-tops-us-in-defense-related-satellites-orbited-in-2022-report/
Tempest by 2027
https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/uk-advances-tempest-demonstrator-toward-2027-first-flight
TASS – Russia’s Nebo-M radars can detect F-22, F-35 warplanes — developer
https://tass.com/defense/1292733
F-35 production – including delivery of 1,000th aircraft:
Lockheed Quietly Delivered 1,000th F-35 in July; Clearing Full Backlog May Take 18 Months
Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.
Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:31 — What We’re Talking About
00:02:02 — Welcome Back Justin Bronk
00:02:32 — Us Air Dominance
00:04:14 — the PRC Answers
00:06:07 — Previewing What Comes Next?
00:07:46 — "J-36" Key Features
00:12:29 — J-20 vs B-21
00:14:15 — the Age of Stealth Over? (No)
00:15:03 — J/H-XX
00:19:27 — the Weapon Bay Question
00:29:29 — Multi-domain Development
00:36:57 — the Missile Race
00:43:31 — Stealth vs Stealth
00:45:30 — Two Solutions: Complexity and/or Size
00:48:00 — the Form Factor Challenge
00:50:35 — Leveraging UCAVs
00:54:54 — PLAAF Modernisation
00:59:36 — Channel Update
Content Creator – Perun
