China has stationed its most sophisticated J-20 stealth fighter jets less than 150 kilometers from India’s border in Sikkim, according to satellite photos taken on May 27.
With permission, All Source Analysis, a company that examines geospatial intelligence and frequently uses satellite imagery, has provided the image (below).
Six Chinese Air Force J-20 stealth fighters are visible in the photo on the flight line of an airport that serves Shigatse, the second-biggest city in Tibet and is used for both military and commercial purposes. Situated at 12,408 feet above sea level, the airport is one of the highest in the world. There’s also a visible KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft.
Although it is aware of the J-20 fighters’ deployment, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has chosen not to comment on them at this time.
“The J-20 stealth fighter is China’s most advanced operational fighter aircraft to date, and these aircraft are predominantly based in the eastern provinces of China,” according to Sim Tack, the leading Geospatial analyst with All Source Analysis. “Seeing these aircraft appear at Shigatse in Tibet positions them on a deployment outside of their normal areas of operations and within proximity of the Indian border.”
India counters the J-20 with its fleet of 36 French-built Rafale fighters, eight of which have presently flown to Alaska for advanced air combat exercises with the United States Air Force (USAF). Significantly, Shigatse, where the Chinese J-20 has been spotted, lies less than 290 km from Hasimara in West Bengal, where India bases its second squadron of 16 Rafales.
This isn’t the first time the J-20 has been deployed in Tibet. The jets have been observed in Xinjiang in China’s Hotan prefecture between 2020 and 2023. This, however, is believed to be the largest deployment of the J-20 which has been spotted by commercially available satellite imagery.
The Chengdu J-20, also known as the Mighty Dragon, is a twin-engine stealth fighter which was introduced into service in 2017. Some reports suggest China may already have deployed as many as 250 of the stealth fighters which are difficult to observe by radar.
China became the third nation in the world to operationally field stealth fighters with the introduction of the fighter. The aircraft is always being updated, and it has many sensors installed. Its main function is to combat air superiority, and it is equipped with China’s most sophisticated air-to-air missiles, such as the PL-15 long-range missile, which is thought to be capable of hitting targets up to 300 kilometers away.
“China has steadily built up its air power capacity in Tibet and other areas near India over the past five years. This has primarily consisted of the construction of new air bases and upgrading the infrastructure at existing air bases,” says Sim Tack. China has also begun deploying aircraft such as the J-20 and its H-6 nuclear-capable bombers to these border regions, at least on a temporary basis.
In response to China’s airfield expansion, India has upgraded its own airbases considerably, adding hardened shelters for its aircraft and strengthening its tier-by-tier surface-to-air missile defense system, which includes the S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile system, which was built in Russia, stationed in eastern India. Along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the S-400 system, which is said to be able to track stealth platforms, is being deployed in an effort to prevent offensive Chinese fighter-sweeps.