Come on Jed, how does stating the facts make China into Russia,,, strawman Dude,,, all goes back to the fact that 5 Gen is a philosophy as much as hardware...its one thing to mass produce Flankers, not that that is easy, but the "heavy lifting" has been done.
It's a whole new ball-game to produce 5th generation aircraft, even more so since China lacks the requisite engine production technology to push the J-20 to the next level, no OVT is only a part of the package, more important tactically is that super cruise and high altitude performance are the more important aspects of 5th Gen technology.
LockMart has been building "L/O" aircraft since the 50's, first the U-2, high-altitude, radar absorbing paint?? (helpful, but still vulnerable) to air defences,, next came the SR-71 and even the MC-130E with their radar absorbent coatings, the SR-71 upping the game with very high supersonic cruise. Then came the F-117, B-2, and F-22,,, so they have a "corner" on the market, and the F-35 is a natural outgrowth of that capability..
the J-20 is a very advanced high performance aircraft. That it is even in production, batch production is a credit to their tenacity and desire, but it is a mountain that must be climbed, one piton driven in after the other,,, to attempt to discredit someone who's been climbing that mountain and long time, and knows the way, is just bad form.
