The capability of the Air Force of the People’s Liberation Army of China to win battles is significantly improved with the recent commission of China’s self-developed latest J-20 stealth fighter, said military expert.

The J-20 fighter jet was officially commissioned into military service in September 2017, which has strategic and epoch-making significance, said Wang Mingzhi, professor at the Chinese people’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Command College.

Wang noted that the commission has increased the ability of China’s air force to deal with new security threats in airspace, and improved the aero equipment systems.

The expert explained that as many countries are stepping up their efforts to develop stealth fighters, including Japan, South Korea and India, it is also urgent for China’s air force to promote its ability to counter security threats in airspace. The J-20 fighter jet will play a significant role in safeguarding China’s airspace security.

In addition, the commissioning of the fighter jet signals that both the air force’s capability to win battles and its deterrence capacity have improved, as the J-20 stealth fighter is capable of detecting and launching attacks to destroy opponents preemptively, Wang disclosed.

Wang also stressed that China has overcome lots of difficulties in developing the fighter jet, as there was no past experience to follow and no possibility to borrow knowledge related to such advanced technologies from western countries.

Despite this, with limited wealth, scientific and technological strength accumulated since the reform and opening up, China has successfully developed the highly advanced new-type J-20 stealth fighter jet in a shorter time than other countries, the expert noted.