As the speed of Chinese Air Force equipment updates accelerates, the number of J-20 stealth fighter equipped by the Chinese Air Force is also increasing. Of course, one waxes and wanes. As the number of Chinese Air Force J-20 stealth fighter equipment increases, the U.S. Air Force's anxiety is also increasing. Because the U.S. Air Force no longer has an advantage over China in terms of heavy fifth-generation aircraft.
If you only look at the US Air Force's book data, even according to the US fiscal year 2023 abolition plan, the US Air Force will still have 148 F-22 stealth fighter after the 2023 fiscal year. However, the overall situation of the US military's F-22 stealth fighter fleet is actually even worse. According to a report on the US "1945" website, an investigation by the US General Accountability Office (GAO) found that due to maintenance problems, lack of spare parts and wear and tear problems, the US Air Force currently has only 93 F-22 stealth fighter jets that are "combat capable" and can be used at any time. Put into use.
The US "Military Watch" website previously believed that the current total equipment of China's J-20 stealth fighters is between 150 and 200. At the same time, in addition to its latecomer technological advantages, China's J-20 stealth fighter has also launched the J-20A equipped with a WS-10C engine and a two-seat version of the J-20S fighter. As a result, China has not only surpassed the United States in terms of quantity of heavy fifth-generation aircraft, but also has an advantage over the United States in terms of quality of heavy fifth-generation aircraft.
Of course, apart from the F-22 stealth fighter fleet, the situation of other US military fleets is not good either. The U.S. General Accountability Office conducted an investigation called " Required to Address Sustainability Risks" and selected eight U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy fighter jets for inspection. In terms of the "mission completion capability rate" indicator, some fighter aircraft have suffered a serious decline. For example, the B-1B "Lancer" supersonic bomber has a compliance threshold of 52%, but it was only 47% in 2015. In 2021, it dropped directly to 40.7%, not even reaching the passing line.
In this investigation by the US General Accountability Office, a total of two fighters and failed to meet the standards. In addition to the F-22 stealth fighter fleet, the U.S. Navy's "Super Hornet" fleet is also far from up to standard. According to requirements, the "Super Hornet" fleet is required to have 530 fighter jets available at any time. But in fact, only 267 "Super Hornet" fighter jets can be put into combat at any time.
This investigation by the US General Accountability Office has had a greater impact on the US Congress, because this investigation illustrates two things. First of all, the commitments the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy have made to the U.S. Congress over the past few years to improve the availability of their respective fleets have not been fulfilled at all. A considerable part of the huge military expenditures allocated by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy have been diverted to other parties. use. Secondly, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy currently have obvious air superiority over the Chinese Air Force.
Although the 93 F-22 stealth fighters are still an air combat force that cannot be ignored, it is impossible for the U.S. Air Force to put all 93 F-22 stealth fighters with combat effectiveness into military operations in the Western Pacific. The Chinese Air Force is fighting at home, and most of its J-20 stealth fighters can be put into combat. By then, it is very likely that China's J-20 fighter jets will actively encircle and annihilate the US military's F-22 fighter jets .
The U.S. Navy's "Super Hornet" fleet was originally an important force in the U.S. military's operations in the Western Pacific. With the decline in the availability of the U.S. military's "Super Hornet" fleet, in order to cope with the Chinese Air Force's huge fourth-generation aircraft team, the U.S. Air Force needs to deploy more fourth-generation land-based fighter jets on the first island chain and the second island chain. The "distributed operations" currently being studied by the U.S. Air Force requires reducing the deployment of large fleets on the first island chain and the second island chain to prevent being overwhelmed by China's long-range missile . This is equivalent to posing a problem for the U.S. Air Force. .
Of course, for the US Air Force, the most serious problem at present is the insufficient number of heavy fifth-generation aircraft such as F-22.Judging from past combat examples, the U.S. Air Force's tactics are to use elite fighter jets to form a "strike force" to tear apart the opponent's air defense network and eliminate the opponent's superior air defense force. Then pile up the numbers and use a large number of F-16 and A-10 to act as " floor scrubber " to completely clean up the opponent's remaining air defense forces.
But now that the number of F-22 stealth fighters is insufficient, the U.S. Air Force cannot use this trick against China. Because the Chinese Air Force can also form key air defense forces with the J-20 stealth fighter as the core to intercept and destroy invading US aircraft. Even, because of its numerical advantage, the Chinese Air Force can even launch a surprise attack on the US military and eliminate the US military's offensive power.
For us, it is inevitable to continue to expand the numerical advantage of the J-20 stealth fighter, because this is a very obvious and correct choice. In addition, subsequent improved models of the J-20 stealth fighter will also continue to advance. In this way, even if the US military's sixth-generation fighter enters service, the combat effectiveness gap between the two sides can be narrowed as much as possible.
In addition, we can consider equipping the J-20 stealth fighter with more auxiliary combat forces. In addition to the J-16 fighter and the J-10C fighter , relevant parties have stated that in addition to the navy carrier version, the J-35 stealth fighter will also launch an air force version. Because it is smaller than the J-20, the purchase price and use cost of the Air Force version of the J-35 will be lower, and it is more suitable for "volume" than the J-20 stealth fighter.
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