CHINA-US: CHINA'S J-20 RECENTLY DISPLAYED TWO KEY TECHNOLOGIES UNIQUE TO US FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
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A picture of a Chinese fighter jet was recently publicized on social media featuring key technology systems developed for the American F-35. According to a report by the Washington Times, an anonymous user recently posted new images of the J-20 on Chinese military websites showing two key technologies that have long been touted as unique features of US fighter aircraft. One of the technologies that apparently originated in the United States was the Distributed Aperture System (DAS), which is supposed to be one of the F-35's most important sensors (the aircraft itself is often colloquially described as a flying computer). DAS has been billed by advocates as a revolutionary capability allowing a pilot to see exactly what's going on 360 degrees around the aircraft — all but eliminating blind spots. Now the Chengdu J-20 has a comparable DAS functionality as well. The second technology used by US aircraft, the Universal Water Activated Release System (UWARS), is also featured prominently on the photo of the J-20. UWARS helps automatically eject pilots from the jets if they hit seawater. The anonymous Chinese poster said "Getting our wish fulfilled… The improved details show that our J-20 is finally going to reveal its majesty on the open sea."
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