According to reports from several media outlets, including the South China Morning Post and Eurasian Times, on December 1, Professor Zhang Dong, an associate professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University, led a team of researchers in a digital simulation of a combat scenario between China’s J-20 and the U.S. F-22. The team is one of the key groups working on China’s advanced military technologies, and the impact of their results is significant.
It is reported that the team used China’s most advanced digital simulation air combat system, which can simulate highly realistic six-degrees-of-freedom models of aircraft, sensors, subsystems, and even weapons such as missiles. The system is capable of replicating aerial combat scenarios almost identically to real-world encounters.
In the tests, given the incomplete data on the F-22, the team deliberately introduced redundancies and set the J-20’s technical specifications lower than those of the F-22. However, the results were highly unexpected: in every simulated battle, the J-20 held the upper hand, achieving a victory rate of 95%, nearly approaching 100%.
While the J-20 enjoys the technological advantage of being a later-generation fighter, both the J-20 and the F-22 are fifth-generation aircraft. So why was the J-20 able to secure such a high victory rate against the F-22? The answer lies largely in the J-20’s “loyal wingman” system.
It is reported that in the simulated air combat, unlike the F-22, which fought alone, each J-20 was accompanied by 2-3 drones, acting as “loyal wingmen” under the direct control of the J-20. In the simulation, the J-20 formation could use the drones’ sensors to detect targets early and employ one drone as a decoy to draw the F-22’s attack, while one or two other drones would create distractions, allowing the J-20 to deliver the final “decisive strike.”
Of course, the data also indicates that while the J-20 has longer-range missiles, the F-22’s AN/APG-77(V)1 active phased array radar has a superior situational awareness capability. Therefore, without the drones, the probability of the J-20 defeating the F-22 would drop to 10%. However, with the inclusion of the drones—whose cost is far lower than that of stealth fighters—the balance shifts completely, demonstrating the critical role drones will play in future air combat.
This is not the first time China has proposed the concept of “manned-unmanned collaborative combat.” In fact, two years ago, China showcased photos of the J-20 flying in formation with three GJ-11 stealth drones. Furthermore, the J-20’s two-seat version has enhanced its data processing and communication coordination capabilities, meaning the combination of the J-20S and stealth drones could become a “standard” setup in the future.
On China’s progress, former Indian Air Force Marshal Anil Chopra remarked that the significance of the “loyal wingman” system lies in elevating the role of human pilots to commanders of entire combat formations. By using relatively low-cost drones equipped with AI to perform specific tactical strike missions, the overall strike capability of the formation is enhanced, while reducing the risks to pilots and operational costs of advanced manned aircraft.
He also pointed out that this poses a problem: such “game-changing” weapon technologies are currently only possessed by a few nations, and the technological gap in global air combat will likely continue to widen. Of course, China already has this technology, and whether other countries have it is no longer China’s concern…
However, it is important to note that although the J-20 triumphed in this simulation with the help of its “loyal wingmen,” the concept of the “loyal wingman” was originally proposed by the United States. For some reason (possibly due to insufficient data), the team did not incorporate U.S. drone data into the test.
Currently, the U.S. is actively practicing coordinated operations between manned fighters like the F-22 and F-35 and drones like the XQ-58, and has already begun using drones for tasks such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It is likely that the U.S. is not far behind China in this area. Therefore, it may still be too early to claim that the J-20 and drones will easily defeat the F-22 in the future.