网上曝光的看上去是中国隐形战机的照片
网
上已经出现了首批貌似是中国隐形战机原型机的高清照片，凸显了中国军力的发展，而几天后美国国防部长盖茨(Robert Gates)即将前往北京，试图修复美中两国的防务关系。中外几个有关军防的非官方网站登出了这些照片。据研究航空和中国军事的专家表示，从照片来看，J-20的原型机似乎是在做高速滑行测试，通常这是一架飞机首次试飞前所进行的最后几个步骤之一。
照片的具体出处还不甚明了，不过好像是热心肠的中国人从成都飞机设计研究所的地面或周围区域拍摄到的，J-20的研发工作就是在这里开展的。少数几个专家表示，照片中的飞机只是实体模型，而不是正常运转中的隐形战斗机的原型机。之所以将其称作"隐形"战斗机，是因为它可躲过雷达和红外感应器的探测。
但更多专家说，他们认为照片和战机真实可信，这是迄今为止给出的最强有力的暗示，即北京方面正在以超出预期的速度研发美国F-22隐形战斗机的竞争对手，F-22是世界上唯一全面投入使用的隐形战斗机。
无法联系到中国国防部和空军部队就这些照片做出置评。不过即使没有得到官方证实，这些照片也很有可能增添美国官员和政客就中国军事现代化问题的忧虑。除隐形机以外，中国的军事现代化还包括即将部署的首个航空母舰以及所谓"航母杀手"的反舰弹道导弹。
这种隐形战机的武器体系可明显提高中国阻挠美国插足台湾冲突的能力，同时也会向美国在亚太区的制海权发出挑战。
中国人民解放军空军副司令员何为荣2009年曾宣布称，中国首批隐形战斗机即将进入试飞阶段，将在"未来八到十年"投入使用。但直到这些照片在网上出现之前，都没有确凿的物证证明这些战机的存在。
监管中国互联网访问的有关当局似乎并未试图屏蔽J-20的照片。
《简氏防务周刊》(Jane's Defence Weekly)航空栏目编辑詹宁斯(Gareth Jennings)说，我见过那些照片，看起来是真的。
詹宁斯说，照片的拍摄距离非常远，有一张照片上飞机的前轮已离开地面，这说明它正在做高速滑行测试，一般来说，这意味着很快就要进入试飞阶段。
美国官员低调处理了中国在隐形战机方面取得的进展，美国情报机构认为，中国隐形战机可能会在2018年左右投入使用。美国五角大楼发言人拉潘上校(Col. David Lapan)说，我们知悉中国最近一直在进行滑行测试，有照片为证，我们也了解中国正在研发第五代战机，但进展似乎并不顺利。
拉潘上校说，中国好像依然在寻求从俄罗斯进口第四代战机所需的引擎，这表明他们在研发第五代战机J-20的工作中还是遇到了麻烦。
美国官员说，曝光的中国隐形战机不会影响任何美国飞机研发计划。
不过，这些照片凸显了中国制造先进武器的研发能力取得了较快进展，这些现金武器还包括无人机，此前数十年中国一直从俄罗斯进口武器并对后者的武器进行反向开发。
另外，这些照片让外界开始重新关注中国军事现代化这个敏感问题，而在经历了2010年发生的一系列公开争议后，此时华盛顿和北京正试图改善两国关系。
美国国防部长盖茨周日将对北京进行拖延已久的访问，差不多一年前，中国为表示对美国向台湾售武的抗议，暂停了与美国的军事交往。
中国国家主席胡锦涛也将于1月19日对美国开始国事访问，外交和分析人士说，届时他和美国总统奥巴马将会就协调两国相互竞争的国家利益商讨解决办法。
最近，美国及其亚洲同盟对中国的海军演习及中国在领土问题上更加强硬的立场感到担忧，而中国的军事战略家则指责美国试图"遏制"中国，美国最近的表现是从去年11月份开始向亚洲派遣了三艘美国航空母舰。
《环球时报》周二的报道援引中国国防大学教授韩旭东大校的话说，美国既想维持世界霸权又想保全其地区利益；美国对中国的军事崛起感到不舒服。
有些专家说他们认为这些照片是真实的，其中包括加拿大《汉和亚洲防务月刊》（Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly）的平可夫（Andrei Chang）和华盛顿国际战略和评估中心（International Strategy and Assessment Center）的中国军事专家费希尔（Richard Fisher）。
一些专家说，该原型机的机身似乎是借鉴F-22和其他美国隐形飞机，但他们也无法从照片中看出该原型机在航空电子设备、复合材料或其他隐形技术的关键方面有多先进。
他们说，中国可能比俄罗斯落后几年，俄罗斯首架隐形飞机Sukhoi T-50于2010年1月首次飞行，但北京方面却正在以出人意料的速度迎头赶上。
2009年，美国削减了F-22的资金，转而支持机身更小、造价更低的F-35，F-35于2006年首次试飞，预计将会在2014年前后全面投入使用。F-22主要被用于在美国领空开展演习和军事行动，但部分飞机被派往关岛和冲绳维持美国在亚太地区的"安全保护伞"。
费希尔说，这架中国隐形飞机原型机看起来有成为F-22竞争对手并且一定会超越F-35的可能性。J-20和F-22一样有两个发动机，大小也差不多，而F-35机身较小并且只有一个发动机。
中国的隐形战斗机计划同样也对日本和印度有影响，日本正在考虑购买F-35，印度上个月与俄罗斯敲定了共同研制隐形战斗机的交易。
Jeremy Page
（更新完成）
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
The first clear pictures of what appears to be a Chinese stealth fighter prototype have been published online, highlighting China's military buildup just days before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Bejiing to try to repair defense ties.
The photographs, published on several unofficial Chinese and foreign defense-related websites, appear to show a J-20 prototype making a high-speed taxi test -- usually one of the last steps before an aircraft makes its first flight -- according to experts on aviation and China's military.
The exact origin of the photographs is unclear, although they appear to have been taken by Chinese enthusiasts from the grounds of or around the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute in western China, where the J-20 is in development. A few experts have suggested that the pictured aircraft is a mock-up, rather than a functioning prototype of a stealth fighter -- so-called because it is designed to evade detection by radar and infrared sensors.
But many more experts say they believe the pictures and the aircraft are authentic, giving the strongest indication yet that Beijing is making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to the U.S. F-22 -- the world's only fully operational stealth fighter.
China's defense ministry and air force couldn't be reached to comment on the latest photos. Even without official confirmation, however, the photographs are likely to bolster concerns among U.S. officials and politicians about China's military modernization, which also includes the imminent deployment of its first aircraft carrier and 'carrier-killer' antiship ballistic missiles.
Such weapons systems would significantly enhance China's ability to hinder U.S. intervention in a conflict over Taiwan, and challenge U.S. naval supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Gen. He Weirong, deputy head of China's Air Force, announced in 2009 that China's first stealth fighters were about to undergo test flights and would be deployed in 'eight or 10 years.' But there was no clear physical evidence of their existence until the latest photographs emerged.
Chinese authorities who monitor Internet traffic in the country appear not to have tried to block the J-20 pictures.
'The photos I've seen look genuine,' said Gareth Jennings, aviation desk editor at Jane's Defence Weekly.
'It's pretty far down the line,' he said. 'The fact that its nose wheel is off the ground in one picture suggest this was a high-speed taxi test -- that usually means a test flight very soon afterwards.'
U.S. officials played down Chinese advances on the plane, which American intelligence agencies believe will likely be operational around 2018. 'We are aware that the Chinese have recently been conducting taxi tests and there are photos of it,' said Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan. 'We know they are working on a fifth-generation fighter but progress appears to be uneven.'
Col. Lapan said it appears the Chinese are still seeking engines for a fourth-generation fighter from Russia, an indication that they are 'still encountering problems' with development work toward the fifth-generation aircraft, the J-20.
U.S. officials said the disclosures wouldn't affect any U.S. aircraft-development programs.
The photographs, however, underscore the rapid progress that China has made in developing a capability to produce advanced weapons, also including unmanned aerial vehicles, after decades of importing and reverse engineering Russian arms.
The photographs also throw a fresh spotlight on the sensitive issue of China's military modernization just as Washington and Beijing try to improve relations following a series of public disputes in 2010.
Defense Secretary Gates is due to begin a long-delayed visit to Beijing on Sunday -- almost exactly a year after China suspended military ties in protest over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
China's President Hu Jintao is then due to begin a state visit to the U.S. on Jan. 19, during which diplomats and analysts say he and President Barack Obama are expected to address ways to accommodate each other's competing national interests.
More recently, the U.S. and its Asian allies have been alarmed by China's naval maneuvers and more forceful stance on territorial issues, while China's military strategists have accused the U.S. of trying to 'contain' China -- most recently by sending three U.S. aircraft carriers to the region since November.
'The U.S. wants to retain its global hegemony and also preserve its regional interests. It is not comfortable with China's military rise,' Senior Col. Han Xudong, a professor at China's National Defense University, was quoted as saying in the Global Times newspaper Tuesday.
Experts who said they thought the photographs were authentic included Andrei Chang of the Canadian-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, and Richard Fisher, an expert on the Chinese military at the International Strategy and Assessment Center in Washington.
Several experts said the prototype's body appeared to borrow from the F-22 and other U.S. stealth aircraft, but they couldn't tell from the photographs how advanced it was in terms of avionics, composite materials or other key aspects of stealth technology.
They said that China was probably several years behind Russia, whose first stealth fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, made its first flight in January 2010, but that Beijing was catching up faster than expected.
The U.S. cut funding for the F-22 in 2009 in favor of the F-35, a smaller, cheaper stealth fighter that made its first test flight in 2006 and is expected to be fully deployed by around 2014. The F-22 has mainly been used for exercises and operations around U.S. airspace, but some have been deployed to Guam and Okinawa to help maintain the U.S. security umbrella in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese prototype looks like it has 'the potential to be a competitor with the F-22 and to be decisively superior to the F-35,' said Mr. Fisher. The J-20 has two engines, like the F-22, and is about the same size, while the F-35 is smaller and has only one engine.
China's stealth-fighter program has implications also for Japan, which is considering buying F-35s, and for India, which last month firmed up a deal with Russia to jointly develop and manufacture a stealth fighter.
Jeremy Page
The photographs, published on several unofficial Chinese and foreign defense-related websites, appear to show a J-20 prototype making a high-speed taxi test -- usually one of the last steps before an aircraft makes its first flight -- according to experts on aviation and China's military.
The exact origin of the photographs is unclear, although they appear to have been taken by Chinese enthusiasts from the grounds of or around the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute in western China, where the J-20 is in development. A few experts have suggested that the pictured aircraft is a mock-up, rather than a functioning prototype of a stealth fighter -- so-called because it is designed to evade detection by radar and infrared sensors.
But many more experts say they believe the pictures and the aircraft are authentic, giving the strongest indication yet that Beijing is making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to the U.S. F-22 -- the world's only fully operational stealth fighter.
China's defense ministry and air force couldn't be reached to comment on the latest photos. Even without official confirmation, however, the photographs are likely to bolster concerns among U.S. officials and politicians about China's military modernization, which also includes the imminent deployment of its first aircraft carrier and 'carrier-killer' antiship ballistic missiles.
Such weapons systems would significantly enhance China's ability to hinder U.S. intervention in a conflict over Taiwan, and challenge U.S. naval supremacy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Gen. He Weirong, deputy head of China's Air Force, announced in 2009 that China's first stealth fighters were about to undergo test flights and would be deployed in 'eight or 10 years.' But there was no clear physical evidence of their existence until the latest photographs emerged.
Chinese authorities who monitor Internet traffic in the country appear not to have tried to block the J-20 pictures.
'The photos I've seen look genuine,' said Gareth Jennings, aviation desk editor at Jane's Defence Weekly.
'It's pretty far down the line,' he said. 'The fact that its nose wheel is off the ground in one picture suggest this was a high-speed taxi test -- that usually means a test flight very soon afterwards.'
U.S. officials played down Chinese advances on the plane, which American intelligence agencies believe will likely be operational around 2018. 'We are aware that the Chinese have recently been conducting taxi tests and there are photos of it,' said Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan. 'We know they are working on a fifth-generation fighter but progress appears to be uneven.'
Col. Lapan said it appears the Chinese are still seeking engines for a fourth-generation fighter from Russia, an indication that they are 'still encountering problems' with development work toward the fifth-generation aircraft, the J-20.
U.S. officials said the disclosures wouldn't affect any U.S. aircraft-development programs.
The photographs, however, underscore the rapid progress that China has made in developing a capability to produce advanced weapons, also including unmanned aerial vehicles, after decades of importing and reverse engineering Russian arms.
The photographs also throw a fresh spotlight on the sensitive issue of China's military modernization just as Washington and Beijing try to improve relations following a series of public disputes in 2010.
Defense Secretary Gates is due to begin a long-delayed visit to Beijing on Sunday -- almost exactly a year after China suspended military ties in protest over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
China's President Hu Jintao is then due to begin a state visit to the U.S. on Jan. 19, during which diplomats and analysts say he and President Barack Obama are expected to address ways to accommodate each other's competing national interests.
More recently, the U.S. and its Asian allies have been alarmed by China's naval maneuvers and more forceful stance on territorial issues, while China's military strategists have accused the U.S. of trying to 'contain' China -- most recently by sending three U.S. aircraft carriers to the region since November.
'The U.S. wants to retain its global hegemony and also preserve its regional interests. It is not comfortable with China's military rise,' Senior Col. Han Xudong, a professor at China's National Defense University, was quoted as saying in the Global Times newspaper Tuesday.
Experts who said they thought the photographs were authentic included Andrei Chang of the Canadian-based Kanwa Asian Defence Monthly, and Richard Fisher, an expert on the Chinese military at the International Strategy and Assessment Center in Washington.
Several experts said the prototype's body appeared to borrow from the F-22 and other U.S. stealth aircraft, but they couldn't tell from the photographs how advanced it was in terms of avionics, composite materials or other key aspects of stealth technology.
They said that China was probably several years behind Russia, whose first stealth fighter, the Sukhoi T-50, made its first flight in January 2010, but that Beijing was catching up faster than expected.
The U.S. cut funding for the F-22 in 2009 in favor of the F-35, a smaller, cheaper stealth fighter that made its first test flight in 2006 and is expected to be fully deployed by around 2014. The F-22 has mainly been used for exercises and operations around U.S. airspace, but some have been deployed to Guam and Okinawa to help maintain the U.S. security umbrella in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese prototype looks like it has 'the potential to be a competitor with the F-22 and to be decisively superior to the F-35,' said Mr. Fisher. The J-20 has two engines, like the F-22, and is about the same size, while the F-35 is smaller and has only one engine.
China's stealth-fighter program has implications also for Japan, which is considering buying F-35s, and for India, which last month firmed up a deal with Russia to jointly develop and manufacture a stealth fighter.
Jeremy Page
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