China ripped off US military technology to construct a complicated high-tech jet fighter, and experts warn that more should be done to guard American weapons information and keep Beijing from making such huge developmental leaps in the long run, based on a report Thursday.
“What we all know is that due to espionage efforts, [China’s] J-20 is more advanced than it otherwise can be, and that’s the essential point here,” former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“They’ve profited greatly from their thievery over time,” Anderson said. “They’ve put it to good use, and so they’ve give you a complicated fifth-generation fighter.”
But he said it’s difficult to find out how the J-20 matches up against the US F-22 Raptor “in need of actual combat.”
Beijing began development on the J-20 stealth fighter for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in 2008 with the aim to develop a warplane that will have the option to compete with American fighters, the report said.
The J-20 launched into its first flight in 2011 and was introduced into service in 2017.
But reports surfaced way back to 2015 noting similarities in technology and capability between China’s jet and US planes — and an Associated Press report even identified that “a few of its technology, it seems, might have come from the US itself.”
The emergence of the J-20 fighter jet shows that China is starting to bridge the technological chasm with the US due to its ongoing mental property theft — a development that’s garnering renewed attention amid tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
Amplifying the concerns is China’s intentions for self-ruled Taiwan, where an invasion could draw the US right into a military clash.
Anderson told Fox News Digital that China employs a wide range of espionage techniques, starting from “old-fashioned” and “low-tech” — like using spies and honey traps, in addition to bribery to recruit American contractors, university academics and government officials — to more advanced methods like cyber hacking to pilfer critical military information.
“Unfortunately, they’ve had some success there,” Anderson said, mentioning that Beijing spent “well over a decade” repeatedly pursuing data concerning the Joint Strike Fighter to be used within the design and construction of the J-20.
“It saves the Chinese money and time. In effect, we find yourself subsidizing a portion of their research and development budget because they’re successfully stealing a few of our secrets,” Anderson said. “Ultimately, this puts our men and girls at greater risk on the battlefield.”
Matt McInnis, a senior fellow for the Institute for the Study of War’s China program, said the will to “understand more sophisticated jet engines” within the West has been a considerable component of Chinese espionage.
McInnis told Fox News Digital that China has placed its focus “almost greater than anything” on acquiring jet engine technology after “struggling for a long time” to remain on pace with the US.
“As someone who’s watched China for a very long time, that’s all the time the joke … will the Chinese ever have the option to provide their very own jet engine?” McInnis said. “So that they’ve slowly been in a position to develop into more independent in creating jet engines for his or her more advanced aircraft.”
