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USAF Confirms: The Chinese J-20 Spotted In Georgia Is a Mock-Up Used For Training by the U.S. Marine Corps
The U.S. Air Force has officially confirmed to TheAviationist.com that the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon photographed at a military facility inside Savannah-Hilton Head Airport, Georgia, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, is a training mock-up for use by the United States Marine Corps.
“It is a full scale replica and remained at the Air Dominance Center for a short period during the week of 4-6 Dec. The USMC is funding and directing the training objectives of this device. Col. Emmanuel Haldopoulos, Commander of the Savannah Air Dominance Center, wrote us.
The specific role of the realistic, full scale mock-up has not yet been clarified by official U. S. Marine Corps sources.
The photo caused worldwide speculation when we broke the story on Thursday, the day after the aircraft was sighted at Savannah-Hilton Head Airport. It was provided to us by a reliable spotter who asked to remain anonymous and shot the photo from public property.
A number of theories about the plane’s authenticity and origin, including bizarre ideas about a Viktor Belenko style defection, however unlikely, swirled around social media. The Russian media outlet Sputnik ran a feature on the photograph and our story.
Late last week, Chinese Defense subject matter expert Andreas Rupprecht, noted author of several authoritative reference books on the Chinese air forces, was the first to observe that the aircraft’s control surfaces had not moved while parked in a static position. He also noted that the exhaust nozzles looked inaccurate and the landing gear was different from a real Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon. These observations confirmed the aircraft was a full-scale mock-up and not a real Chengdu J-20.
Now that the authenticity of photo and the purpose for the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon have been officially confirmed by the U.S. Air Force the more interesting story becomes how the U.S. Marine Corps will integrate the aircraft into its training operations.
The appearance of the USMC-owned J-20 mock-up suggests that the U.S. is taking the emergence of this and other Chinese weapons systems seriously. With a significant increase in both indigenous and export weapons programs coming from China the U.S. focus on emerging Chinese defense technology is well justified.
Comparison of the Savannah-Hilton Head training mock-up photo (bottom) with a file photo of the Chengdu J-20 from China’s Defense Force. A. Incorrect Landing Gear B. aircraft’s control surfaces not moved while parked in a static position. C. Incorrect nozzles (Photo: Anonymous and Chinese Media.)
https://theaviationist.com/2018/12/...up-used-for-training-by-the-u-s-marine-corps/
The U.S. Air Force has officially confirmed to TheAviationist.com that the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon photographed at a military facility inside Savannah-Hilton Head Airport, Georgia, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, is a training mock-up for use by the United States Marine Corps.
“It is a full scale replica and remained at the Air Dominance Center for a short period during the week of 4-6 Dec. The USMC is funding and directing the training objectives of this device. Col. Emmanuel Haldopoulos, Commander of the Savannah Air Dominance Center, wrote us.
The specific role of the realistic, full scale mock-up has not yet been clarified by official U. S. Marine Corps sources.
The photo caused worldwide speculation when we broke the story on Thursday, the day after the aircraft was sighted at Savannah-Hilton Head Airport. It was provided to us by a reliable spotter who asked to remain anonymous and shot the photo from public property.
A number of theories about the plane’s authenticity and origin, including bizarre ideas about a Viktor Belenko style defection, however unlikely, swirled around social media. The Russian media outlet Sputnik ran a feature on the photograph and our story.
Late last week, Chinese Defense subject matter expert Andreas Rupprecht, noted author of several authoritative reference books on the Chinese air forces, was the first to observe that the aircraft’s control surfaces had not moved while parked in a static position. He also noted that the exhaust nozzles looked inaccurate and the landing gear was different from a real Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon. These observations confirmed the aircraft was a full-scale mock-up and not a real Chengdu J-20.
Now that the authenticity of photo and the purpose for the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon have been officially confirmed by the U.S. Air Force the more interesting story becomes how the U.S. Marine Corps will integrate the aircraft into its training operations.
The appearance of the USMC-owned J-20 mock-up suggests that the U.S. is taking the emergence of this and other Chinese weapons systems seriously. With a significant increase in both indigenous and export weapons programs coming from China the U.S. focus on emerging Chinese defense technology is well justified.
Comparison of the Savannah-Hilton Head training mock-up photo (bottom) with a file photo of the Chengdu J-20 from China’s Defense Force. A. Incorrect Landing Gear B. aircraft’s control surfaces not moved while parked in a static position. C. Incorrect nozzles (Photo: Anonymous and Chinese Media.)
https://theaviationist.com/2018/12/...up-used-for-training-by-the-u-s-marine-corps/