Image source: topwar.ru
The China Air Show aviation exhibition opened in Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province (China) on November 8. It presents the products of Chinese aircraft manufacturers – both civil and military purposes. The event will last six days.
China has been holding such exhibitions for 26 years, since 1996. They exhibit not only airplanes and helicopters, but also aviation equipment, landing equipment, air defense and electronic warfare equipment. In 2022, more than 740 companies from 43 countries and regions will take part in the exhibition.
One of the landmark events of the air show was the demonstration flights of the flight group of the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army of China on J-20 aircraft.
This time, China is presenting several new products at the exhibition. This is a YU-20 tanker aircraft, an upgrade of the J-16 multi-purpose fighter, a high-altitude drone with a long flight time GJ-2. The Yunyou 20 tanker aircraft made its debut, showing that it can simultaneously refuel three fighters in the air. The Kunlong AG600M amphibious aircraft demonstrated the discharge of 12 tons of water from a low altitude. The Chinese passenger plane C919 demonstrated a number of actions, such as flying in a circle with a steep slope of 45 degrees.
Experts called the demonstration of the protection system against unmanned aerial vehicles a "highlight" of the salon. The experience of events in Ukraine has pushed Chinese designers to new developments in the field of unmanned aircraft and means of protection against it. For example, the Wuzhen-10 (WZ-10) reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle was demonstrated for the first time at the air show. The organizers of the exhibition stressed that the electronic intelligence UAV was developed by China independently. It is designed to detect, receive and localize radar signals of enemy troops.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), which is taking part in the exhibition, said that it intends to compete with the jet passenger aircraft of Airbus and Boeing. Six aircraft have already completed all the tasks of test flights and are at the final stage of certification.
Experts from Taiwan are watching the air show with close attention, which is now concerned about the possible risks of an attack from China. Thus, Shu Xiaohuang, a junior researcher at the Institute of Political, Military and Operational Concepts of the National Defense Security Research Institute in Taiwan, in an interview with Radio Free Asia noted that China showed the latest UAVs, fighter concepts and new air weapons at the exhibition. Taiwanese experts are concerned that the serial production of this aircraft will significantly increase the offensive capabilities of the People's Liberation Army of China in the near future.
