China is frequently accused of cyber espionage and theft of classified
military information, especially by its arch-enemy, the United States.
Through its hackers or hackers, Beijing is even accused of stealing
sensitive American technology used in the F-35 stealth fighter jet.
Russia, now a staunch ally of China, has also made similar accusations
against Beijing in the past. Several years ago, Russian state media;
Sputnik, criticized China's J-15 aircraft for its many shortcomings.
Moscow also accuses Beijing of reverse engineering the Russian Su-33 it
brought from Ukraine to produce an aircraft capable of being operated from
its own aircraft carrier, the J-15.
However, this is not about the Su-33 or about Russia. The two countries have
abandoned hostilities to mend relations that challenge the United States,
their common enemy.
The United States undeniably has one of the largest and most advanced Air
Forces in the world.
Washington boasts two fifth-generation stealth fighters – the F-22 Raptor
which refuses to be sold to any country and, the mighty F-35 Lightning II,
one of the most advanced fighters in the world.
The US Department of Defense and program contractors have been pretty
tight-lipped on the technology and some of the key features of the F-35. For
example, specific information about the F-35's electronic warfare
capabilities is hard to come by.
However, the United States later accused China of stealing technology used
in the F-35 fighter to manufacture its own fifth-generation stealth fighter.
According to a review by The EurAsian Times, Saturday (5/2/2022), suspicions
of China's role in stealing F-35 information first surfaced in the public
domain after former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward
Snowden allegedly leaked several classified documents to German media. Der
Spiegel, in 2015. The leaked data shows the full extent of China's
cyber-espionage efforts.
Records shared with Der Spiegel show that Chinese hackers were able to
access classified information about the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter
jet. According to insiders, a data leak occurred at key subcontractor
Lockheed Martin in 2007.
Furthermore, in 2019, the then-Donald Trump administration's National
Security Adviser, John Bolton, accused China of stealing US technology to
build its own stealth fighter.
The Chinese Hacking Case On August 1, 2018, China commemorated the founding
day of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) by deliberately leaking several
high-resolution photos of the fifth-generation J-20 stealth aircraft to the
media. Photographs of the J-20 released later in 2019 provide a close-up
view of the fuselage.
They also revealed a sensor system that appears to be identical to the
Lockheed Martin Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) on the front of the
F-35 Lighting II.
Many terabytes of data related to the F-35 program are believed to have been
stolen by Chinese hackers, including information about the F-35's radar
design such as the number and types of modules used by its systems and
engines, including methods used for gas cooling, front and rear edge
treatments. , and a rear deck heating contour map, stated "1945".
Chinese hackers also appear to have obtained material on the US Air Force's
F-22 Raptor and B-2 stealth bomber, as well as space-based lasers, missile
guidance and tracking systems, as well as designs for nuclear submarines and
anti-air missiles.
This theft, including information related to the F-35, is thought to be part
of a larger Chinese cyber campaign dubbed "Byzantine Hades" by US officials.
This campaign, which may have started in early 2006, has been linked to the
Technical Reconnaissance Bureau operating as part of the People's Liberation
Army's Third Department.
The Chinese reportedly prefer a "spear-phishing" approach to gaining access
to classified material, which requires a compromised email account and
password to enter a secure network.
Secret US State Department documents obtained by WikiLeaks and made
available to Reuters by a third party tracking breaches of China's military
system, dubbed "Byzantine Hades" by US investigators.
According to the document, the sites being tracked were registered in
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in central China.
According to a Reuters report, the sites were set up by Chen Xingpeng, who
used the "precise" zip code in Chengdu used by the People's Liberation Army
First Technical Reconnaissance Bureau (TRB) of the Chengdu Province People's
Liberation Army, a Chinese military electronic espionage group.
J-31 and F-35 Fighter Jets Since then, there has been some skepticism about
using the J-20 as some of its components have some eerie similarities to the
F-35's design including stealth features.
Nonetheless, US military experts have often dismissed China's claims that
the J-20 is a fifth-generation fighter. However, the J-20 "Mighty Dragon"
has two nose canards, which makes it different from the F-35.
There is another fifth-generation stealth fighter in China that is still in
development. It shares the same specifications as the American F-35 and some
Western analysts doubt that China may have stolen the technology to
manufacture the futuristic J-31 (FC-31) fighter.
Information relating to the F-35 allegedly stolen by Chinese hackers has
most likely been fed into China's efforts to manufacture advanced fighters,
particularly the J-20 and, in particular, the FC-31 (formerly known as the
J-31).
Indeed, public images of the FC-31, as well as Chinese media coverage of the
aircraft, reveal significant similarities between the two.
The Shenyang FC-31 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter and will be China's
second domestically produced stealth fighter when it enters service.
The FC-31 is being designed as a multi-role fighter, similar to the F-35,
and will be able to perform a variety of missions such as close air support
(CAS) and interdiction operations, as well as suppression of enemy air
defenses, and may also be operated as a ground-based fighter. aircraft
carrier.
The FC-31 is powered by two Russian designed RD-93 turbofan engines and has
a maximum speed of 2,200 km/h and a range of over 2,000 km.
The aircraft can be equipped with state-of-the-art avionics such as
multifunction displays, helmet-mounted sights, electro-optical targeting
systems (EOTS), altitude control indicators (ADI), and advanced sensor and
communication systems.
The FC-31 is armed with an internal cannon and two internal gun bays capable
of carrying two missiles each, as well as three hardpoints for placing
weapons on each wing.
Doubts about the possible theft of American technology will disappear once
China officially launches and operates its FC-31.