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China's J-20 fighter accused of stealing U.S. technology
2014/03/15 22:56:59
Taipei, March 15 (CNA) China's new J-20 jet fighters could be running on technology "stolen" from the U.S. military's next-generation F-35 fighters, a minor news website based in Washington reported Thursday.
The Washington Free Beacon report, which quoted anaylists and officials, indicated that the J-20's electro-optical targeting system and other technologies were obtained by a Chinese cyber espionage group that has reportedly stolen U.S. government secrets since 2007.
It cited mostly unnamed officials as having said that details of the J-20 posted online seemingly confirm the use of designs by Lockheed Martin, the maker of the F-35. It also cited the officials as saying that China had stolen data on the latest terminal high-altitude defense missile system as well as the Patriot III missile defense system.
China's state-run Global Times replied to the report Saturday, portraying it as biased and based on speculation.
The Global Times quoted Liu Jiangping, a senior researcher at China Society of Military Sciences, who called the Washington Free Beacon report groundless and criticized the paper for making accusations "based only on the similarity in (the J-20's) appearance and aerodynamic design."
Both China's J-20 and the U.S.-made F-35 belong to the fifth generation of fighter jets. Both models are currently being produced in their respective countries, but neither has yet entered active service.
(By Charles Kang and Lilian Wu)
