In a recent air defense exercise, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) utilized a J-20 stealth fighter jet to simulate an attack by a U.S. F-35 stealth aircraft.
According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), the PLA’s 75th Group Army and a PLA Air Force unit conducted a joint air defense exercise under realistic combat conditions in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The exercise aimed to enhance the integration of command chain and firepower chain between the Army and Air Force units, and to hone their combat capabilities as an integrated unit.
During the exercise, the Air Force unit shared air information with the Army air defense brigade. Despite the opposing aircraft’s attempt to penetrate defense at a very low altitude, the defending side was able to lock on to the targets and deploy countermeasures to defeat a night time attack, all the while under strong electromagnetic interference.
The CCTV report included footage showing an Army anti-aircraft artillery gun aiming at and tracking a J-20 stealth fighter jet of the Air Force when the aircraft was flying low and could be visually confirmed. The exercise aimed to enable the Army and Air Force to integrate and share real-time intelligence.
According to Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, the F-35 stealth fighter jets are mainly designed for ground attack missions and could opt to penetrate air defense from low altitudes rather than high altitudes. In this scenario, the Air Force’s long-range radars and missiles could lose their advantages, while the Army’s short-range radars, infrared and optical sensors, as well as air defense artillery guns and missiles mounted on highly mobile vehicles, gain significance.
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