Among the reasons which explain the sudden and massive rise in power of Chinese and Russian military forces, one of the main ones is based on the clear identification of the adversary to be fought, namely the American and allied naval air forces in the Pacific. for China, and NATO for Russia. Contrary to Western doctrines which are often very vague and procrastinate with the designation of potential adversaries, the two countries have, for more than ten years, evolved their military tools, and directed their investments, towards this sole objective, based on the principle that he who can challenge America and its allies can gain an advantage over any other adversary.
And among the equipment representative of US military and naval aviation power in the years and decades to come, the F35 appears to be the most emblematic, with the Patriot system and the Nimitz and Ford class super-aircraft carriers. In addition, the aircraft was acquired by Japan, Australia and South Korea, and will therefore represent a significant part of the air forces mobilizable by the Western alliance in the Pacific.
It therefore appears essential for Beijing to be able to detect these aircraft, and to have the means to neutralize them, thus depriving the opposing forces of a significant part of their firepower. Several programs are being developed in this direction, based on passive radars and low frequency radars, as well as on multi-static engagement capabilities, both for Chinese Navy buildings specialized in anti-aircraft defense such as Type 052D destroyers. and Type 055, as land-based air detection and defense systems and air forces, including the use of early air warning aircraft using UHF/VHF band radars.
This is also why the Chinese military authorities have ordered the development of a target drone whose performance and radar footprint are comparable (according to them) to those of the F35. The objective is obviously to train personnel, evaluate the effectiveness of the tools, and improve doctrines to deal with these devices. This drone, which should soon enter service within the PLA, was presented at the MAKS2019 exhibition taking place this week near Moscow. The LJ-1, since that is its name, is a subsonic drone 4,7 m long with a 2,5 m wingspan, and can be deployed in training, to simulate operational conditions close to reality. It also carries fire detection, jamming and decoy systems like a combat aircraft.
Unlike the use of stealth combat aircraft like the J-20, the use of a drone makes it possible to conduct more realistic training, going as far as destroying the target with live fire, which will not allow only to evaluate the procedures, but the real effectiveness of the equipment, and in particular the missiles, against this type of device.
“He who sweats more in times of peace will bleed less in times of war,” said Sun Tzu. One thing is certain, the Chinese are ready to sweat a lot...