J-20, J10-B JETS DAZZLE SPECTATORS AT CHINA AIRSHOW

A pair of Chinese fighter jets - the J-20 stealth fighter and a thrust-vectoring J10B demonstrator aircraft, put on an impressive demonstration at Airshow China 2018 on November 6, 2018 confirming that the country’s military aviation technology is advancing at a greatly accelerated pace. Three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force J-20 jets wowed 20,000 spectators by performing numerous dazzling manoeuvers during their 15-minute performance in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province. The J-20 was first shown in public at the Airshow China in 2016, but only two of them appeared for less than a minute. A J-10B demonstrator fighter aircraft powered by a Chinamade thrust-vectoring WS-10 Taihang engine, also produced a collective “wow” from the air show audience. It made a series of impressive manoeuvers, including Pugachev’s Cobra, a dramatic and demanding manoeuver for which it uses engine thrust to maintain a near constant altitude throughout the entire move. The J-10B is the world’s first single-engine canard wing fighter jet to perform the Pugachev’s Cobra manoeuver.