“What we know is that because of the espionage efforts, [China’s] J-20 is more advanced than it otherwise would be, and that’s the important point here,” former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“They have profited greatly from their thievery over the years,” Anderson said. “They’ve put it to good use, and they’ve come up with an advanced fifth-generation fighter.”
But he said it’s difficult to determine how the J-20 matches up against the US F-22 Raptor “short of actual combat.”
[That has been the purpose of China’s infiltration of intelligence into its industrial partnerships, and more directly in its cyber-offenses against the US. It’s not surprising, even if it is still dismaying. — Ed]
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