By Li Qiang and Liu Yang
李强 刘扬
The day January 11, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of China's J-20 stealth fighter's maiden flight. Ten years after the maiden flight, the development direction of the Chinese fighter jets led by the J-20 becomes a hot topic of widespread concern from the outside world. In particular, the images of a video released by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which revealed the engine change of the J-20, have attracted wide attention.
2021年1月11日是中国第一型隐形战斗机歼-20首飞十周年纪念日。首飞十年后，以歼-20为首的中国战机还将向哪些方向继续发展，成为外界广泛关注的热点话题，特别是前段时间空军发布的视频中出现歼-20动力发生变化的画面，引发高度关注。
The new changes of the J-20 were unveiled for the first time in the PLAAF's recent recruitment video and a promotional video of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a Chinese military expert said in an interview.
一位国内军事专家在接受采访时表示，近期空军招飞宣传片和航空工业的宣传视频中首次透露了歼-20的新变化。
The expert believes that the engine for China's J-20 has undergone relatively large changes in details in recent ten years, indicating that the power problem restricting the development of the fighter has been resolved. For the future high-end aviation weapons, a powerful engine will become an important benchmark. Combined with the development of its network technology, material technology, and other essential technologies, China will have the comprehensive high-end manufacturing capability of J-20. In the future, the J-20 will assume a more important role in the development of China's strategic air force.
专家认为，十年后歼-20发动机有了比较大的细节变化，说明制约战机发展的动力问题已经解决。今后在高端航空武器领域，“心脏”强劲将成为重要标杆，结合我国的网络技术、材料技术以及其他重要技术的发展，中国将具备歼-20全要素高端生产能力，今后随着战略空军的发展，歼-20将承担更加重要的作用。
The expert also mentioned that, internationally, two-seat fighter jets could perform a variety of combat missions. In the future, if a twin-seat variation of J-20 comes into exist, it will be able to perform multi-purpose combat missions, with integrate elements from various warplane types including fighters and bombers.
该专家还提到，国外双座战机可以执行多种作战任务，今后如果歼-20有了双组员配合，将会将之前的歼击机、歼击轰炸机等多种机型的要素集成到一起，形成多用途作战功能。
Li Gang, the test pilot of the J-20's maiden flight, believes that the J-20 is a fourth-generation fighter jet, one that can compete with foreign counterparts in the true sense of the word. Before the J-20, the overall equipment and combat capabilities of the PLAAF was still behind some advanced countries. Since the J-20 was commissioned, this gap was basically gone or became quite narrow. Li hopes that the developers can continue their efforts to develop a better aircraft than the J-20.
首飞试飞员李刚认为，歼-20是真正意义上的四代机，也是真正意义上能和别国抗衡的一型飞机。没有歼-20以前，中国空军的整个装备和战斗力对比一些先进国家，还有一定差距。从歼-20装备部队以后，这种差距基本没有了，或者说非常小了。希望研制人员可以继续努力，研制出比歼-20还好的飞机。
The west continues to pay attention to the progress of China's aviation industry and the development of aviation equipment. Not long ago, a British think tank issued a report saying that China's aviation industry has surpassed Russia in many areas. Countries all over the world are accelerating the development of new generation fighter jets. The next generation of fighter jets, unmanned wing planes, and AI air combat systems are gradually moving from vision to reality. It also means that the development of China's new fighter jets cannot and will not stop. With the successful development and deployment of the J-20, the Chinese fighter jets, who were once lagged behind and now are competing on the same stage with foreign counterparts, will continue to make progress in the future.
当前，西方持续关注中国航空工业的进步和航空装备的发展。前段时间，英国智库曾发布报告，认为中国航空工业在很多领域已超越俄罗斯。世界各国都在加速新一代战斗机的探索和研发。下一代战斗机、无人僚机、人工智能空战系统逐步从设想走向现实，这也意味着，中国新型战斗机的研制不能停止也不会停止。伴随着歼-20的成功研制与列装，中国战斗机从以前的望尘莫及、望其项背，到现在的同台竞技，未来则将不断超越。
When the J-20 made its maiden flight, the then US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was visiting China. Gates, who was quite impressed with the maiden flight, later confessed that the US intelligence agencies underestimated China's capability to develop a new generation of fighter jets.
歼-20首飞时，美国时任防长盖茨正在访华。歼-20的首飞成功，让盖茨印象深刻。后来他曾坦言，美国情报部门低估了中国研制新一代战机的能力。
The J-20 led China's military aircraft into the 20th era. Aviation equipment numbered 20, such as Y-20 and Z-20, are the latest and most advanced models of similar aviation equipment in China. In fact, there are still many gaps need to be filled in the combat equipment sequence of the PLA, and more “20s” are needed. Among world-class strategic bombers, large tankers, stealth carrier-based fighter jets, carrier-based fixed-wing early warning aircraft, etc., who will be luckily the next “20”? Let us just wait and see.
歼-20引领中国军机步入20时代，编号20的航空装备，例如运-20、直-20，都是中国同类航空装备中的最新锐型号。其实，在人民军队作战装备序列中，还有很多需要填补的空白，还需要更多的20，比如达到世界先进水平的战略轰炸机、大型加油机、隐形舰载战斗机、舰载固定翼预警机……谁会是下一个20呢，让我们拭目以待。
(This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.)
