ADVANCES in Chinese and Russian stealth technology and a gun that can’t shoot have once again put Australia’s next generation fighter in the firing line.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is no stranger to controversy. It is, after all, the most expensive defence program in history. But the clamour of criticism is growing as new details emerge of its chief competitors — the Chinese J-20 and Russian T-50 stealth fighters.
China, which topped the United States as the world’s largest economy in 2014, is pushing ahead with an ambitious military expansion program. And it’s throwing money at several new stealth designs to ensure their success.
The result: A looming shift in the balance of air power that threatens to eliminate the air superiority lead the West has held since World War II.
An increasingly cash-strapped United States may be finding itself in a similar position to that of the United Kingdom before World War II — a waning world power in deep denial of its fading might.
All its air-defence eggs, along with those of most of its allies — are now in the one F-35 Lightning II basket. It’s too big to fail. There are no fallback options.
T-50: This new Russian ‘stealth’ fighter can fly faster, further and higher than the F-35 with a much greater load of anti-aircraft weapons.
J-31: This Chinese multi-role stealth fighter has reportedly been offered for sale to its allies.
J-20: Optimised as a long-range interceptor, it appears this Chinese fighter is designed to hunt-down and destroy other stealth aircraft.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/f-35-in-new-dogfight-over-chinese-russian-stealth-fighter-advances/story-fnpjxnlk-1227181998650
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