The simpleest way to misunderstand an easy-to-find stealth fighter that has two seats is to believe it is being used as a training plane. The Chengdu J-20S of China does not fit into that story. The two-seat version of the “Mighty Dragon” would be better described as a cockpit designed to deal with complexity: sensors, electronic warfare and networking chores which can overload one man when the mission is not about a clean air-to-air duel but about coordinating a broader strike package. The added crewmember, in that regard, is not a passenger, but an enabling operation, particularly in maritime operation when the aircraft might require to locate, monitor, categorize, and assist with attacking a moving warship and remain survivable in a saturated electromagnetic environment.
It is becoming clear in open-source imagery that the J-20S is moving out of prototypes and into frontline reality. A recent surge of photos identifies aircraft with markings of a front line People Liberation Army Air Force unit, and this reflects the overall trend that dates back to the introduction of the first prototype. Even J-20S itself had to be redesigned in front of the cockpit to fit the 2nd crewmember, and current examples seem to exhibit an airframe that has been optimized as opposed to being stretched-long, which is a critical point where low observability and performance are desired but must be compromised to add a mission crew.
The strategic result of J-20S being stealthy is not its stealthiness, but its ability to do what it can do stealthily. The Chinese official media releases have highlighted the capability of the aircraft to make precision attacks on ground and maritime targets, electronic jamming capability, tactical command and control and manned-unmanned teaming. That package is an easy fit with the idea of a “kill chain” whereby the most valuable platform may not necessarily be the shooter but the node that is able to co-ordinate inputs, maintain tracks alive, and deliver targeting-quality information across a network at the appropriate time.
The imagery of recent suggests hardware changes, too, which are in line with that role. Reshaped nose has been observed by analysts to bring the J-20S into line with the radar present in the superior J-20A, and the prospect, not yet proved, of gallium nitride elements which would allow the provision of increased power output and thermal efficiency. The current jets also seem to have a more recent electro-optical installation under the nose, a system that is linked with wider-area sensing. A more sombre palette has also been noted, with viewers noting the potential of having updated radar-absorbent finishes, although the actual materials might be opaque.
When placed in an anti-carrier model, the J-20S then becomes a sort of airborne director of long-range sea attack. The back-seater is able to deal with sensor operations, electronic attack timing and drone control allowing the pilot to use the jet aggressively by remaining within a contested battle space. That fits the so-called “loyal wingman” paradigm, which has been talked about extensively in the contemporary air forces, with the accompanying uncrewed pilots able to go deeper into the battlefield, enlarge the sensor view, challenge defenses, or haul weapons and decoys. The J-20S provides a viable means of executing that playbook having a human being focus on the mission control, as opposed to gambling all on cockpit automation.
This is where pressure puts on U.S carrier aviation too. The F/A-XX initiative of the U.S. Navy is being structured in the context of a geometry problem that is growing exponentially: the carriers are being driven out by threat and sensor, and the air wing must still reach the targets that have already been defended. The increasingly common description of programs has been a platform that is a stealthy command-and-control node with embedded electronic attack, designed to manage cooperative aircraft and range much further-facilities embodied in the Navy stated program of about a 25 percent range enhancement over the present day carrier tactical jets.
The J-20S bet of China is that a two seater stealth fighter can play the role of a force- multiplier long before a clean sheet sixth generation air wing of carrier aircraft. In the carrier-hunting problem set, the aircraft assisting in connecting sensors, drones, jammers and shooters may be as significant as the platform that drops the weapon.
