My analysis is based on discussions with senior IAF personnel who had access to intelligence about the J-20, as well as certain individuals in China and Taiwan who are also aware of the shortcomings of the J-20, both its design flaws in terms of aerodynamics and RCS (its radar is still visible to enemy radar from front, because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military has not figured out how to hide the radar/radome from modern enemy radars, which is probably why they kept the canards in spite of them being detrimental to RCS), lack of stealth materials technology (which is also unreliable as it breaks down easily), weak unreliable engines with very short times between overhauls (as low as 80 hours), avionics, radar, IR sensors and weapons seekers which are 2 decades behind in back-end technology (copied from 2 decade old, severely downgraded Russian sensors).
Here is retired air marshal Raghu Nambiar's assessment in comparison to Rafale:
Elsewhere also, he and others from IAF have given interviews in which they have listed the shortcomings of the J-20, which according to their assessment is somewhere between 3rd and 4th generation aircraft in terms of technology.
He is not the only one saying this either. There are others currently in IAF leadership who have seen the latest intelligence reports on the J-20, and will tell you the same thing. This is primarily due to the technological limitations in China right now due to restrictions placed on CCP military both by the west and Russia. All weapons that Russia has supplied to China have been severely downgraded in terms of technology. If the CCP military AESA and missile technology were really as advanced as they claim, why would they be importing Russian S-400, which is based on 2 decades old Russian radar/missile/datalink technology? And the version that Russia is exporting to CCP military is severely downgraded, yet the CCP military is still importing it. And this is Russian technology, which is another 2 decades behind western technology, which countries like India and Taiwan have had access to.
There are lots of other issues currently in operating the J-20, like maintenance and reliability, which the CCP military is struggling with. There is a huge difference between showing off aircraft in propaganda flights in airshows to intimidate the enemy and brainwash Chinese people, and making an aircraft operational. Every time they have tried to land a J-20 in a high altitude airfield in Tibet, they have had to change the tires, because the lack of lift due to thinner air is putting too much pressure on the single nose wheel tire during landing. And this is just one issue along with a million other things that keep breaking down, as well as not performing well due to outdated, unreliable technology. CCP military is good at making aircraft look good in propaganda pictures and brochures, not so good at making decent operational aircraft. Part of this also has to do with the massive corruption and coverups that exist in the CCP military.
All J-20 propaganda by CCP military right now, including overinflated numbers and photoshopped images tell me that the current purpose of the J-20 is as a psy ops propaganda toy, in order to intimidate the enemy, and hence win without fighing. That is the mission of the J-20: To fool the enemy into believing that CCP military is so great, when in reality it is an outdated military with outdated equipment that doesn't work so well, as well as poorly trained soldiers and pilots.
But the day another military calls CCP military's bluff, not just in terms of the J-20 but also other shiny toys which don't work so well in operational conditions, CCP military will face a major defeat.
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