China's new weapons lagging behind advanced countries

Jan 18, 2013- A large part of new domestic weapons including J-31 jet fighter, the first aircraft carrier of China, as well as WZ-10, WZ-19 and Yilong UAV exhibited at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai of Guangdong have recently been exposed to the public.

A Chinese J-31 stealth fighter during a test flight.

Some media called the phenomenon a "blowout" of domestic weapons. China still has a gap with that of other advanced countries, and a new round of "blowout" is expected to appear, said Chen Hu, editor-in-chief of the World Military Affairs magazine.

Chen said foreign countries had long since developed their weapons and they even have been equipped with them substantially, which means that China can only shorten its gap with the advanced countries but is still far away from them. Most of the Chinese weapons are independently researched and developed, but more efforts needed in independent innovation.

To the question whether the phenomenon of "blowout" can continue and how long it will last, Chen said that it depended on whether the reasons for "blowout" exist. First, it refers to the natural phenomenon which still exists in the development of new military equipment. Some foreign countries have begun the development of new generation of military equipment based on the current ones such as the so-called "sixth-generation fighters" and new type strategic bombers. Second, it refers to the external environment. With the occurrence of a series of events in the surrounding areas of China including oceanic areas, China is bearing huge foreign military threat, which motivates it to develop new generation of weaponry. Third, China still has blank areas in some major weaponry and has a gap of over 20 years with the advanced countries, which implies that the conditions for China to pursue the advanced countries also exist.

Chen said, "The research and development of military equipment are cyclical so we are more likely to see an intermittent 'blowout.' We have reasons to look forward to the continuation of the current 'blowout' even a new one."

People Daily