China plans to build the world's first two-seater stealth fighter jet.
According to the South China Morning Post, China is working on a two-seater aircraft based on its state-of-the-art stealth fighter J20.
Experts from the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute (CADI), which developed the J2, are working on the world's first stealth aircraft, which will be able to carry two pilots, and will be more advanced than ever before.
An outline of the aircraft has also been unveiled and it has been revealed that it will serve as a small, early warning fighter jet.
The seats will be side-by-side and will help the two pilots to easily communicate and share information effectively.
According to the report, the new aircraft will be equipped with air-to-air weapons but will not be used as a bomber.
Sources said that it would not be a real bomber, but to maintain its stealth and high speed, it would be necessary to give preference to light air-to-air bombs instead of missiles.
Heavy air-to-ground and air-to-sea missiles are mounted on the wings of aircraft, greatly affecting stealth capabilities.
Sources said that fighter jets carrying heavy weapons could easily be seen in the air defense system.
Song Zong Ping, a Hong Kong-based military expert, said the J20 should be upgraded to a different version because of its strong detection capabilities, multi-channel intelligence and electronic warfare information.
He said the design of the two-seater could take time to build new aircraft as significant changes would have to be made to the structure of the aircraft, which would make it a different model of the J20.
CADI and its subsidiary, Xi'an Yang Aircraft Design Institute, which developed the J15, are working on a new generation of fighter jets that can compete with the US F-35.
The J20 fighter jet was first unveiled at an air show in late 2016, with its first glimpse in 2010.
In February 2018, the Chinese Air Force announced that its new stealth fighter J20 was now ready for combat purposes and had been handed over to the Air Force.
The Chinese Air Force has announced that its new stealth fighter J20 is now ready for combat purposes and has been handed over to the Air Force.
