China’s newest fighter jet emerged as a talking point at an American defence conference this week, with US Air Force officials showing more urgency to get their own version of a sixth-generation stealth combat jet.
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They made the call at the annual Air & Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium, held in Colorado from Monday to Wednesday, while discussing the future of a costly fighter jet programme – Next Generation Air Dominance – that was paused last summer.
“We have some choices to make as we observe what China has produced, and we can presume we know what that’s for – for air superiority,” US Air Combat Commander Kenneth Wilsbach said during a panel discussion on Tuesday, according to American news outlet Defense One.
“What are we going to do about it? I don’t believe that nothing is an option,” he said.
Wilsbach was referring to the unofficial debut of two Chinese sixth-generation aircraft prototypes in December that suggests the People’s Liberation Army could have an early advantage in the race with its long-range, stealthy J-36.
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