China has been promoting the latest version of its carrier-based stealth fighter jet at the Middle East’s biggest military expo as competition heats up for aircraft sales in the region. China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) gave visitors to the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) this week the first close look at a model…
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Tibetan tree rings link climate change and fall of major Chinese dynasties Researchers have used tree rings to track rainfall patterns on the Tibetan Plateau over the…
In a significant geopolitical move, Pakistan is to purchase 40 Chinese stealth fighter jets, known as J-35s, according to a media report. The South China Morning Post, published in Hong Kong, reports that China will deliver all 40 stealth fighter jets in less than two years, citing Pakistani media. According to the Hong Kong-based South…
China’s military has trimmed at least a year off its fighter pilot training programmes, with one US source predicting that the PLA will have “completely modernised” its pilot instruction system by the early 2030s. The reduction in the pilot programme from at least four years to three comes as the People’s Liberation Army steps up…
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, selected by US President-elect Donald Trump to lead efforts to reduce federal government spending, made headlines Monday by criticising modern fighter jets and advocating for drones as the future of air warfare.“Manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway. Will just get pilots killed,” Musk said on his…
In a major embarrassment, the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Programme Office has drawn criticism after a now-deleted social media picture seemed to depict a Chinese fighter jet in a Veterans Day homage. In its report, the South China Morning Post mentioned the social media post intended to honor America’s troops on November 11. “Today, and every…
Aviation enthusiasts are gearing up for China’s biggest air show which begins on Tuesday in the southern city of Zhuhai, in Guangdong province. The 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition – a biennial event also known as Airshow China – will give visitors a glimpse of the country’s expanding aviation industry and military advances….
Could stealth fighter jets take off from Japan, get past China’s air defence system and bomb Shanghai? Chinese military researchers say they have simulated this scenario, with mixed results. Their 10 rounds of computer simulation found that stealth fighters could be detected from 180km (110 miles) away by just a few land-based radars. That would…
A groundbreaking radar being developed by Chinese scientists could detect and track F-22 stealth fighter jets using signals from China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system. Using a simple receiving antenna, the radar is cost-effective, can be deployed almost anywhere on Earth and does not emit signals that might reveal its location. Plus, if BeiDou is jammed,…