Hi,
It does not work like that. Remember---anyone can have a 'beautiful' girl---but not everyone can manage and keep a 'beautiful' girl.
Designing a stealth aircraft is a lesser technology as compared to the technology inside of the belly of the aircraft--ie the engine---and the electronics---.
Capabilities of fighter aircraft are not necessarily disclosed by the manufacturer----they are not a hidden secret---the only secret is from the ignorant---.
There are professionals out there who can look at the adversaries industrial base---look at the design---look at the space available and they can tell you right on the dime the capabilities of the aircraft---the electronics---the weapons systems etc---.
There is nothing that china has operational at par with the F 35 and possibly not for another 10 years----. Just because china has flown a couple of stealth designs doesnot mean they are in league of the big boys---. It is just the begining of a major major headache.
NEVER FORGET ABOUT THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT---when you advance technology so fast---the issues and problems have a habbit of increasing at an ever greater pace and numbers---.
China has yet to solve its engine problems----you want to talk about high end electronics warfare package---.
In their dreams the J10B would be able to come close to the Block 60----they can't even match the pak blk52----and they have no capable technology to match the pak blk 52's for the next 5 to 10 years.
While most of your arguments are valid from a discussion's standpoint, you are heavily discounting a few things:
1) Yes, sure the Chinese engine technology needs to mature for J-10, J-11, J-16, J-20 and J-31 types of platforms. But for the JFT, the RD-93 is actually a very capable engine.
2) The multirole capability designed in the JFT and for future Chinese jet was taken from an F-16 initially. Then, further designs were bought - stolen through the black market and then the Russian input into designing jets, license production - tot for the SU-27, etc and later the BVR tech given to China. Then the rumor has it that they stole F-35's data also.
What this means is that the Chinese HAVE developed the infrastructure and the technology base, based on the current standards. Now, it's a matter of few years till they start to produce 80 - 90% of the capability that the US jets provide.
The Chinese military industry is set to beat the Russians in weapons sale by 2025. That's a fact. I am sure that in a conflict, any pilot would want to fly a jet 80-90% capable of its Western counterparts than flying obsolete tech. An example is PAF's Mirages and F-7 vs. the JFT.
3) One of the most critical points is that, unlike the US and Russia.....the Chinese are ahead in some cases. They've learned from the best and their mistakes. The US no doubt is and will be technology wise always superior. One of the best things we do well.....is the military. Better than anyone else.
But, since WWII, we the US and then the Russians have worked on MANY designs that end up costing billions but were a waste from all aspects. Just take a look at the Russian or American lines of old jets.
The Russians got behind because they opted for Mainframe technologies (which are back now as cloud computing), while the US setup an industry base with the Micro processor, thus its industry adopted for computer based applications in the smallest workplace, offering new generation capability due to the small infrastructure. But the Russians stayed with the mainframe and large complex infrastructure. The results of which can be seen if you do a cockpit analysis of earlier versions of F-16 c's vs. the Mig 29, SU-25 and 27.
The Chinese are using the same technique as the Americans. They are using Micro-processor based infrastructure and tech. Due to which, offering multiple tech options for even a smaller defense company is possible due to the ease of Infrastructure setup for defense research.
So...the Chinese have decent airframes and the capability that they've started to offer. It is generations ahead of what they were offering in 1998!!! So they skipped about three decades compared to what the Russians accomplished between the 70's and the 2000's. So you can see where the Chinese are.
They are actually closer than you thought (hate to admit it but its true). Within next 5-10 years, you'll see the technology, weapons, avionics coming almost on par with the Europeans / the West. 10-15% different doesn't really count when you are dealing with the same capability on either side. Similarly, they are running three batches of Engine tech programs and they are in testing. It's just a matter of few years before they iron out their tech issues and mass-produce their main lines of engines!!!
But from a comparison's standpoint, the US will remain the sole super power for the foreseeable future (next 40 years). It's influence may get reduced a bit as there will be regional powers from Brazil to China to India to Russia. But the US will remain the top line defense manufacturer due to its innovation, staying ahead of the curve, investments in defense r&d and prior experience in weapons development.
