CHINA’S J-20 stealth fighter made its public debut yesterday at the 11th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in Guangdong Province.

    Two of the fifth-generation warplanes performed a series of maneuvers under overcast skies at the six-day biennial event.

    The fighters were not announced on the schedule and appeared in the sky just after a colorful aerobatics show by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

    With no fanfare but an abrupt announcement by the master of ceremonies, the dark, powerful jets rumbled side by side over the sun-baked spectators. Two minutes later one blasted vertically into the sky and the jets were gone.

    The long-range J-20, with radar-evasion and air-to-air missiles, performed its first test flight in 2011 and has been the object of feverish attention by the nation’s aviation buffs.

    This year’s Zhuhai exhibition, the largest ever, features an array of new made-in-China military technology including assault vehicles, anti-aircraft missile systems, drones and fighter jets.

    Among other recently developed Chinese aircraft appearing at the air show is the Y-20, China’s first heavy transporter jet with a maximum takeoff weight of around 200 tons. The plane is being introduced into the People’s Liberation Army to carry out aerial command-and-control operations and parachute drops.

    Also featured is the CH-5 unmanned aerial vehicle, China’s largest combat drone, which made its first flight last year, and the AG-600 seaplane, the largest of its kind in the world.

    Objects relating to or models of the space lab Tiangong-2, the lunar probe Chang’e-5, as well as Long March carrier rockets and their launchers, are also on display. In addition, the solid-fueled carrier rockets Kuaizhou-1 and Kuaizhou-11, and a number of missiles, rockets and high-end drones, made their first public appearance at the show.

    Two huge exhibition rooms showcased the latest sea, land, and drone-based defense systems on giant screens, with enemy ships and aircraft as targets.

    The Aviation Industry Corp. of China — maker of the J-20 jet — will present more than 160 products and systems, including military and civilian aircraft, helicopters and drones, at the show.

    China’s only international aerospace expo, the Zhuhai event is attended by over 700 manufacturers from 42 countries and regions, and feature 140 aircraft.

    A 70,000-square-meter zone will feature demonstrations of more than 10 types of military and civilian equipment, such as tanks and SUVs, a first for the show.

    Aerial aerobatic teams from China, Russia, Britain and Pakistan wooed spectators, and Britain’s Red Arrows gave its first performance in the air show.

    The exhibition covers an indoor area of 82,000 square meters, about 24 percent larger than the last event. Overseas manufacturers account for 45 percent of attendees, again, more than all previous events.

    At the event, the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China signed an agreement allowing China Eastern Airlines to be the first customer to use the C919, the country’s first large passenger aircraft.

    The two will start negotiations on contracts concerning five C919 jets, which rolled off the final assembly line in November 2015.

    (SD-Xinhua)