In the latest promo released by China Air Force on September 3, seven J-20 fighters became the biggest highlight. This move marks J-20’s mass service in China’s air force, and Chinese Air Force is accelerating the replacement from the third-generation fighter to the fourth generation.
As the most advanced fighter of the Chinese Air Force, J-20 quietly achieved quantitative upgrades. In 2011, the first flight of the single prototype; in 2016 Zhuhai Air Show, the debut of two-fighter formation; in July 2017, participated in the Zhurihe military parade in a three-fighter combat formation; in 2018 Zhuhai Air Show, upgraded to 4-fighter formation, two of which opened the bomb room for the first time; on August 1 this year, the Air Force released a promotional film, “Beginning with Me to Fight”, and there was five-J-20 formation; just a month later, they quickly “upgraded” to 7 in the same picture.
At the same time, the Air Force has got two “Weilong Brigades” with J-20 fighters. Air Force expert Wang Mingzhi pointed out that the J-20 mass service into the force has reached a certain scale, which is an important breakthrough for the Air Force’s high-end fighters and an important symbol of its strategic transformation.