China should fear the F-35: For many years, the American-made F-22 Raptor was internationally recognized as the world’s most powerful fighter. U.S. adversaries looked at the world’s first fifth-generation airframe as the greatest threat in the skies.
Moscow and Beijing have developed their own fifth-generation programs, however, and the F-22’s reputation has subsided some.
China’s J-20 Chengdu and Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 are considered near-peers to America’s own fifth-generation platforms by the majority of industry experts.
Additionally, the entry of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter into service over the last eight years has shifted focus away from the Raptor.
Months back, the Chinese-language journal Modern Defense Technology recently reported that Chinese military scientists believe the F-35 is a greater threat than the Raptor platform over the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
According to the study’s results a few months ago, while both the F-35 and Raptor pose significant threats to Chinese defenses, the Joint Strike Fighter is a more versatile and lethal airframe.
F-22 vs. F-35 Stealth Fighter
As the world’s first operational fighter jet to combine supermaneuverability, supercruise, stealth, and sensor fusion into a single airframe, the F-22 has a deservedly stellar reputation. The Raptor first entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005 after decades of conceptualization and development.
Perhaps the Raptor’s greatest capability is its smaller radar cross-section, which makes the airframe extremely difficult for enemy planes to detect. Additionally, the F-22 is powered by twin thrust-vectoring F119 turbofan engines that enable the jet to outmaneuver even the best near-peer platforms. The Raptor can fly at speeds reaching Mach-2.25. The F-35 flies much slower, reaching Mach-1.6.
While the Raptor’s superior attributes should not be discounted, the F-35 sports some significant advancements.
Most importantly, the F-35 features high-tech sensing and is a robust multi-role fighter platform. The jet’s AIM-9X Sidewinder missile can change course after being fired, redirecting to destroy moving targets from behind or even beneath the airframe.
U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 , Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), refuel a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 13, 3rd MAW, on a Forward Arming and Refueling Point at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Arizona, May 23, 2022. The weapons configuration consists of six inert guided bombs, four mounted onto the wings and two loaded into the weapons bay, as well as an Air Intercept Missile 9X. Marine Aircraft Group 13 forces are capable of conducting offensive air support, anti-aircraft warfare, and aviation reconnaissance from expeditionary sites in any clime and place. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)
Although the JSF is often recognized for being a stealth-heavy jet, the airframe can also function as a weapons powerhouse. In combat mode, the F-35 can transition into what is known as Beast Mode. The Aviation Geek Club detailed the specifics of the F-35’s fighter side: “In stealth mode, the F-35 can carry 5,700 pounds of internal ordnance.
Once air dominance is established, the F-35 converts to beast mode, carrying up to 22,000 pounds of combined internal and external weapons.” The Joint Strike Fighter can carry two AMRAAMs, six JDAMs, and two Sidewinders when it is in Beast Mode configuration.
What about the J-20 Chengdu?
While Beijing often claims its homegrown fifth-generation fighter, the J-20, is superior to the F-35 and F-22, we actually don’t know the extent of the jet’s capabilities. Little information surrounding the J-20’s mission systems, computing sensors, or weapons interfaces is available, making a true diagnosis of the jets’ threat challenging.
J-20 stealth fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
J-20 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to ramp up, potential for kinetic conflict rises. Perhaps a Chinese J-20 and an American F-35 will face off in the future.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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