New Delhi: China has deployed its most advanced J-20 stealth fighter jets less than 150 kilometres from its boundary with India in Sikkim, reported NDTV based on satellite images it gathered and reproduced with permission from All Source Analysis.
The image shows the presence of six Chinese Air Force J-20 stealth fighters on the flight-line at a dual-use military and civilian airport at Shigatse, second-largest city in Tibet.
According to NDTV, a KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft is also visible.
The airport, located at an altitude of 12,408 feet, is among the highest in the world.
The Indian Air Force has not commented on the development.
“The J-20 stealth fighter is China’s most advanced operational fighter aircraft to date, and these aircraft are predominantly based in the eastern provinces of China. Seeing these aircraft appear at Shigatse in Tibet positions them on a deployment outside of their normal areas of operations and within proximity of the Indian border,” a senior official at All Source Analysis said.
The Chengdu J-20 is a twin-engine stealth fighter introduced by China in 2017 when it became the world’s third country to field stealth fighters operationally.
The main role of J-20, which is equipped with an array of sensors, is that of an air superiority fighter, and carries China’s most advanced air-to-air missiles, some of which is reported to be capable of striking aerial targets up to 300 km away, as per NDTV.
India’s potential counter to the J-20 is a fleet of 36 French Rafale fighters, eight of which are in Alaska for advanced air combat exercises with United States Air Force (USAF).
India’s base of its second batch of 16 Rafales is in West Bengal’s Hasimara, which is 290 km from Shigatse.
