Chinese military experts are confident that there are only three countries of the world - Russia, the United States and China - that are capable of developing and building fifth generation fighter aircraft. They also admit that until recently, the world thought of China as a country that could only ripoff the technologies invented in Russia.
These days, however, China has achieved considerable progress in the field and surprised the USA and Russia too, albeit unpleasantly.
When China first announced the development of the fifth-generation J-20 fighter, many countries did not believe this message, because all the previous models of Chinese aircraft were modifications of various Russian aerial vehicles, military experts told China's NetEase publication.
According to Chinese journalists, the new J-20 fighter comes as a serious competitor to best aircraft from the United States and Russia. The stealthiness of fighter aircraft is a very important factor, of course, but the flight altitude is no less important, and China has something to brag about here. While the maximum flight altitude of the American F-22 fighter is about 19,000 meters, and the Russian Su-57 is capable of reaching the 20,000-meter mark, but China's fifth-generation fighter jet J-20 tops the altitude of about 30,000 meters. According to Chinese observers, Russia and the United States feel uncomfortable after this.