China achieved its fifth-generation fighter jet by copying U.S. military tech, and it could maintain its pacing challenge for the American military if more isn’t done to safeguard sensitive weapons information, experts tell Fox News Digital.
“What we know is that because of the espionage efforts, [China’s] J-20 is more advanced than it otherwise would be, and that’s the important point here,” former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson said in an interview.
“They have profited greatly from their thievery over the years,” he said. “They’ve put it to good use, and they’ve come up with an advanced fifth-generation fighter,” noting that it’s “hard to say short of actual combat” how the J-20 matches up against the U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter.
China began developing its J-20 in 2008 as part of a plan to design a new fighter that could compete with those in America. The plane first took flight in 2011, with its introduction to service in 2017.
