China has deployed fifth-generation J-20 “Mighty Dragon” stealth fighters on India’s northern border. Beijing has at the same time greatly increased the number of these advanced aircraft and its military exercises on the border adjoining India.
Analysing recent satellite images, the Indian outlet NDTV reported that at least 11 J-20 aircraft were deployed at two Chinese air bases near the Indian border between June and mid-July this year.
Satellite images from the space-based data analysis company Vantor show seven J-20 aircraft lined up on the runway at Hotan air base in Xinjiang on 9 July. The base, suitable for dual civil and military use, lies just 245 kilometres from the Indian Air Force’s Daulat Beg Oldi base north of Ladakh. It is the first time so many stealth aircraft have been present together at a Chinese base near the border.
A second image collected by the same company shows four more J-20 stealth aircraft on the runway at Damxung air base in Tibet. The base is just 344 kilometres from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The co-founder of the defence research organisation NewSpace and a former fighter pilot, Sameer Joshi, said: “The presence of 11 J-20 aircraft at these border bases facing India proves that operating fifth-generation stealth aircraft has now become a normal routine for China. It is a permanent threat for the Indian Air Force.”
The main strength of the J-20 stealth aircraft is its highly refined radar technology and special design, which mean it is not easily picked up by ordinary radar. It is therefore far ahead of conventional fighters. The French Rafale in the Indian Air Force’s fleet is very powerful, but it is not an aircraft of the fifth-generation stealth category.
India currently has no stealth fighter of its own. Although work on the AMCA, the first stealth aircraft built with domestic technology, is moving ahead quickly, it could take until at least 2035 for it to be finally inducted into service.
The military outlet The War Zone reported that China had about 50 J-20 aircraft in 2019, a figure that passed 200 by the end of 2022. China is currently capable of building about 120 J-20s a year.
By 2026 figures, the Chinese air force has about 300 to 500 J-20s. According to the United Kingdom’s Royal United Services Institute, the number will reach 1,000 by 2030.
A former deputy chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal Narmadeshwar Tiwari, said: “A capacity to build something like 125 fighter aircraft a year shows China’s vast military industrial capability. Such rapid production is possible because of a complete supply chain.”
The arrival of Chinese J-20 aircraft on the Indian border is not new. The aircraft were also seen at Daocheng Yading in Tibet in 2016 and at Shigatse base near the Sikkim border in May 2024.
In response, India currently operates 36 Rafale aircraft at Ambala and Hasimara. A deal has been completed to buy 26 more Rafales for the navy, and talks are under way to buy an additional 114 Rafales for the air force. India also has more than 260 Sukhoi-30MKIs and some older Mirage-2000 and MiG-29 aircraft.
The Indian Air Force did not comment in response to NDTV’s questions about China’s new stealth deployment on the border.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report