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February 28, 2015

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J-20 stealth fighter in brief video appearance

CHINA’S prototype stealth fighter, the J-20, made a rare appearance on screen when a brief shot of it was included in an air force recruitment video.

The J-20 had its first test flight in early 2011 — during the then-US defense chief Robert Gates’ visit to China — but few images of it have surfaced since then.

In the “Heroes’ Sky” video released on Chinese video-sharing websites on Thursday, the aircraft is seen taking off in a brief clip among images of older fighters.

“The new fighter jets call for a new generation of blue sky flying stars,” air force spokesman Shen Jinke told Xinhua news agency yesterday.

“The film shows the air force’s role in safeguarding state security and maintaining military strategies, and as a responsible great power, China needs to build an air force to maintain regional stability and world peace,” Shen said.

The six-minute video is in three chapters — “The sky needs you,” “The future belongs to you” and “The nation calls on you” — and showcases the lives of air force pilots, including female pilots.

It also shows another new aircraft, the Y-20 military transport plane.

During his 2011 visit, Gates said the J-20 fighter lagged behind US fighters, despite some analysts saying it could challenge America’s air domination.

“The J-20 can be used to seek air domination. That means we can use the jet to defend our airspace if it is invaded,” Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo said at the time, adding that the stealth fighter would be deployed solely within China’s territory.

The Y-20 military transport aircraft was first shown in public at a November air show in Zhuhai, a city in south China’s Guangdong Province.

In recent years, the PLA Air Force has emphasized educational background during annual pilot recruitment tests and trains its pilots in conjunction with some of China’s leading universities.

Earlier this week, it announced plans to set up bases in high schools. Selected students will undergo training in addition to their regular school studies, said Peng Junxia, head of the air force’s pilot recruitment bureau.




 

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