Quote:Explores the J-20 stealth fighter's development, technologies, and global impact, highlighting China's rise as a major player in combat aviation.

The J-20 fifth generation stealth fighter program has epitomised China's rise from a laggard in combat aviation into a potential world leader. J-20 Mighty Dragon: Asia's First Stealth Fighter in the Era of China's Military Rise details the J-20's technologies, capabilities, production timeline, design priorities, roles, evolution, and the formations and locations where it has been deployed, the ways other countries have responded to it, and how the last 30 years of China's industrial and technology sector's modernisation positioned the country to produce what may well now be the world's top air superiority fighter.

The J-20 program is the most high-profile indicator of a turning point in the balance of power between China and the United States, and has produced by far the most capable fighter that America or its allies could face in a potential conflict. An assessment of the history of Chinese air superiority capabilities, and how the Korean War in particular has influenced the country to place a very strong emphasis on the need to field a leading fighter for air-to-air combat, thus provides an important deeper understanding of the program.