Photos of what appears to be a new Chinese fighter design, shown heavily shrouded and purportedly en route to a stress-testing facility somewhere in China, appeared on the Internet starting in late June, reported the Washington Free Beacon. Some analysts believe the aircraft is yet another new stealthy fifth generation fighter, known as the Shenyang F-60, currently under development, according to the Free Beacon‘s July 17 report. The fact that China may be working on a second advanced fighter in addition to the stealthy J-20 that came to light in early 2011, however, “should not come as a surprise,” said former Air Force intelligence chief David Deptula. “The [People’s Liberation Army Air Force] has a very comprehensive planning process, and may have several advanced aircraft in various stages of design and development,” stressed Deptula.
When Space Force leaders started talking about expanding the service early this year, the idea was simple: double the size of the force in the next five years. At AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference this week, officials detailed just how they’re planning to grow so much so quickly.
