AirShow China 2018: J-20 stealth fighter could performed flight demo.

Multiple J-20 stealth fighter jets were spotted in the skies above Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday October 30, 2018, in preparation for Airshow China 2018 that will take place in Zhuhai from the 6 to 11 November 2018, a military expert said. Two J-20 formations, each consisting of two fighter jets, made a low pass through the airport, after which one of them put on a solo aerobatics performance.

Two formations of four Chinese J-20 stealth fighter jets have performed rehearsal at Zhuhai, October 30, 2018. (Picture source Twitter Eva Zheng)

Despite the J-20's absence from the list of participating aircraft released by the air show's organizer, the aircraft is very likely to make a surprise appearance, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator.

In the edition 2016 of AirShow China, the J-20 made its debut with a flyby exhibition for less than a minute at the opening ceremony.

The Chengdu J-20 is a single-seat, twinjet, all-weather, stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

The J-20 made its maiden flight on 11 January 2011, and was officially revealed at the 2016 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. According to Chinese military sources the J-20 is in service with the Chinese Air Force since March 2017, with the aircraft officially entering combat training phase in September 2017.

The J-20 has an electro-optical targeting system under its nose while six units of Distributed Aperture System (DAS) sensors are mounted around fuselage. Official information on radar type that the J-20 will use has not been released to the public. Some analysts believed that J-20 will use Type 1475 (KLJ-5) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar with 1856 transmit/receive modules, but more recent informations revealed that this radar is designed for upgraded versions of J-11D. Other analysts point out that based on J-20 nose cross section, using known data about a single transmit/receive module surface in J-16's AESA radar, J-20 have space for radar that fits 2000-2200 transmit/receive modules.

The main weapon bay is capable of housing both short and long-range air-to-air missiles (AAM) (PL-9, PL-12C/D &PL15 – PL-21) while the two smaller lateral weapon bays behind the air inlets are intended for short-range AAMs (PL-10). These bays allow closure of the bay doors prior to firing the missile, thus enhancing stealth.

While the figher typically carries weapons internally, the wings include four hardpoints to extend ferrying range by carrying auxiliary fuel tanks. However, much like the F-22, the J-20 is unlikely to carry fuel tanks on combat missions due to its vulnerability in such a configuration, thus this configuration remains valuable for peacetime operations.