J-20.
Two Chinese Air Force J-20 stealth fighters appeared at an air base in the far west of China as the mountain range between India and China enters its fourth month.
The twin-engine J-20s can be seen in commercial satellite images of Hotan Airport, in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. Chinese social media users first mocked the planes.
The J-20 deployment, however temporary, signals Beijing’s resolution as China struggles with India to gain influence over a disputed region of the Himalayas. But a few war plans, however sophisticated they may be, do not represent much actual combat power.
It is not clear if there are more J-20s from the west than just two that can be seen in the satellite photo. The Chinese Air Force owns only about 40 J-20s.
Hotan is located about 200 miles from Ladakh, the region of northern India, where the Line of Actual Control runs, the demarcation between Indian and Chinese troops in the Himalayas. Diplomats drew that line as part of a ceasefire after a bitter, bloody border war in 1962.
After weeks of posturing, early June, Chinese troops killed 20 Indian soldiers in a skirmish along the LOAC. Thirty-three Chinese soldiers were also injured or killed, according to press reports.
Indian and Chinese war plans and helicopters patrol the border zone as the stand-off continues. India has deployed Su-30, MiG-29 and MiG-29K fighters.
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force has previously deployed at least six H-6 bombers with KD-63 cruise missiles to Kashgar airport, also in Xinjiangan, causing the bombers to land striking farms of Indian troops.
The small contingent of the J-20s is probably less potent than the H-6 force is. Two J-20s flying together could probably not launch more than one patrol every few days. Double the J-20 release to four aircraft, and you may get a daily mission of two jets.
J-20s in Hotan.
Triple it, and you can average a little more maintenance than one mission per day. But at that size, the J-20 contingent at Hotan could demand the support of the entire stealth fighter fleet of the PLAAF.
That’s because, due to training and maintenance requirements, a force of 40 fighters can sustain just a handful of aircraft on frontline operations over an extended period of time.
It is a problem that smaller European air forces are struggling with, as they are taking over fierce fleets of F-35 stealth fighters to replace their larger fleet of old F-16s. Denmark buys 27 F-35s to replace 41 F-16s and expects to deploy four F-35s simultaneously. Belgium bought 34 F-35s to replace 56 F-16s and was able to deploy about five F-35s.
However, the J-20s underline Chinese resolution – and could hint at larger, future deployments of a wider variety of combat types. The Chinese air force is currently thin on the ground in western China. The PLAAF is concentrating its forces in the east on operations across the disputed China Seas and on a possible invasion of Taiwan.
Additionally, the stricter conditions and performance-spinning high-rise elevations of western airports complicate combat operations. Chinese J-16s that fly regularly from western bases often carry only a few small air-to-air missiles and need to get new brake discs after each mission.
At 4,600 feet above sea level, Hotan is higher than most bases served by the PLAAF – with the obvious impact on the performance of aircraft flying from the base. The proximity of Hotan to the LOAC at least reduces the performance influence of the high, thin air.
To be clear, Indian forces in the region have the same limitations, although it is worth noting that India has more experience with air strikes in the mountains.
During a clash with Pakistani troops in Kashmir back in 1999, a single coordinated strike by the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000s Litening camera pods and laser-guided bombs managed to strike a key Pakistani headquarters.
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