By ROBERT WALL
Sept. 25, 2016 1:26
p.m. ET
For more than two
decades, combat aircraft flown by the U.S. and its European allies have pretty
much owned the sky. Now, Russia and China are spending lavishly on new weapons
that could challenge that superiority, spurring a new arms race.
Some of the hardware,
both planes and antiaircraft capabilities, is expected to roll out in the next
few years. The upgrades come as Moscow flexes its muscles in hot spots such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Beijing does so in the South China Sea—heightening urgency among
Western military brass to push for their own, next-generation combat planes. (See interactive graphic: Comparing the World’s Fighter
Jets)
“The most pressing
challenge for the United States Air Force is the rise of peer competitors with
advanced military capabilities rivaling our own,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.
David Goldfein told lawmakers in June, days before being confirmed in the job.
Two months later, the
U.S. Air Force certified its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Designed to be hard
to detect, the plane is specially built for the sort of limited, precision
strikes that have become a hallmark of Western military action since NATO’s
bombing campaign in Bosnia in the 1990s.
What is considered the
Ferrari of combat jets, the F-22, is still relatively new, first fielded in
2005. Designed to shoot down enemy aircraft while flying as fast as twice the
speed of sound, it has more recently evolved into a bomber, too, and can soak up intelligence over enemy
territory.
More than
three-fourths of the U.S. fleet of jet fighters, however, can be traced back to
the 1970s. The Air Force has flown its F-15 since 1975. The widely used F-16
has been operational since 1979, and the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 was first deployed
in 1978.
Those older planes are
also the backbone of the air forces of many Asian and European allies, along
with newer jets like France’s Rafale and the Eurofighter.
Russia plans to start
fielding its first stealth fighter, the T-50, in 2018. The twin-engine plane is
designed to be highly maneuverable and equipped with sophisticated electronics
to spot enemy aircraft from miles away.
Meanwhile, it has
deployed some of its latest combat planes, such as the Su-34 bomber and Su-35
fighter, to Syria. Russia’s Defense Ministry couldn’t be reached for comment.
China has historically
relied on Russian designs, many older and some built domestically under
license. That is starting to change with the new projects. The country’s air
force “is rapidly closing the gap with Western air forces across a broad
spectrum of capabilities,” the Pentagon said this year in its annual assessment of the Chinese
military.
China’s J-20, which resembles the U.S. F-22,
started flying in 2011, though it hasn’t yet entered military service. A year
later, Beijing began flight trials of the FC-31, a look-alike of the U.S. F-35.
China’s Defense
Ministry referred to its response in May to the Pentagon’s report when it
expressed “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” and accused the U.S.
of “improper comment” on issues including China’s weapons development.
The U.S. still
maintains an edge—its radar-evading planes are operational, while Russia and
China are still developing theirs. But it isn’t just new aircraft raising
concerns.
Both China and Russia
are also fielding more sophisticated antiaircraft systems. Moscow says its new
S-400 can shoot down planes at a range of up to 236 miles, or roughly twice the
previous range.
In August, Russia’s
Defense Ministry announced the system would be deployed to newly annexed Crimea
amid escalating tensions with Ukraine. Moscow is also marketing its new
air-defense systems for sale abroad.
“That enormously
complicates the challenge of conducting any type of military operation,” said
David Deptula, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general.
China this year
deployed its HQ-9 surface-to-air missile system to the Paracel Islands in the
South China Sea, a chain that is also claimed by Vietnam.
To counter those new
threats, the U.S. Air Force, in a recent assessment of combat needs,
recommended introducing long-range missiles or other weapons that would allow
current planes to strike targets while remaining outside the range of an
adversary’s defenses.
It is also already
pushing new planes, targeting 2030 for an upgraded model, U.S. Air Force Gen.
Herbert J. Carlisle, head of the service’s Air Combat Command, said at an air
show in England in July.
The U.S. Navy in May
kicked off an 18-month assessment of how to replace its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
multi-role combat jet, with a target date around 2035.
The Pentagon is still
defining exactly what it wants in a new plane, but such plane makers as Boeing
Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. have all started
circulating futuristic drawings of what such a plane might look like. BAE
Systems PLC says the company has a small group of engineers brainstorming for
the U.K., according to Chris Boardman, managing director at a military unit of
the British arms maker.
Some U.S. lawmakers
and others have urged the Air Force to restart production of the F-22 fighter,
which the U.S. stopped building in 2012, with new electronics to more
effectively counter improving enemy air defenses.
European defense
ministries, including the U.K.’s, have also recently begun to consider new
combat aircraft, said Douglas Barrie, military aerospace senior fellow at the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. He cited “Russia’s
assertiveness in Eastern Europe and its procurement of increasingly capable
combat aircraft.”
The U.K. Defense
Ministry said it plans a number of technology “maturation” efforts in
conjunction with the U.S. and France. It is buying the F-35, but is also
pursuing its own efforts, the ministry said.
Germany, too, wants a
combat aircraft to replace its aging Tornados, developed with Italy and the
U.K., which entered Luftwaffe service 37 years ago.
Berlin is looking at
manned and unmanned options, according to a German Defense Ministry report last
year. A ministry spokeswoman said the capabilities to be required are still
being assessed, along with the future threat picture.
Paris, in addition to
working with the U.K. on new concepts, plans to upgrade the Rafale combat plane
to keep it effective against evolving threats, a French Defense Ministry
spokesman said.
Write to Robert Wall
at robert.wall@wsj.com
Original post wsj
When
did the J-20 resemble the F-22?
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