From China, with Stealth

Say whaaaaat?! That seemed to be the general feeling of many of the political and governmental players across the globe as China beat the rest of the world in a friendly game of, Who got the coolest Christmas present? China put iPads and tow-socks to shame as photo sand videos emerged, and buzzed the Internet, of its new J-20 stealth fighter jet shortly after Christmas.

The tests coincided with a scheduled visit from United States defense secretary Robert Gates. Secretary Gates, who was in China for talks intended to improve military ties and relations between the U.S. and China, directly asked Chinese President Hu Jintao during one of their meetings if the test of the J-20 stealth fighter jet had anything to do with his visit.

When asked Gates told reporters "I asked President Hu about it directly, and he said that the test had absolutely nothing to do with my visit and had been a pre-planned test". Gates added when asked if he really believed that it was just a coincidence that the J-20 test flights just so happened to coincide with his visit to China, "I take President Hu at his word that the test had nothing to do with my visit."

Thus avoiding any public awkwardness, and any private slap fights, between Secretary Gates, President Hu Jintao, and their two respective nations.

The development and test flight of China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet came faster than many had expected, and took the folks at the Pentagon by surprise. The Pentagon had predicted that China wouldn’t have a stealth fighter for at least another decade. Oops.

But even with that said the plane is still years away from seeing full-time service.

Vice Adm. David J. "Jack" Dorsett, deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance, told reporters, “They enter operational capability quicker than we frequently project."

Dorsett acknowledged that the stealth fighter was real, but said it would be years before the jet could be deployed. "Developing a stealth capability with a prototype and then integrating that into a combat environment is going to take some time," he said.

So as of right now, with the J-20 being years away from actual operation, China has a really cool plane they take out for a spin occasionally for testing purposes, and also when the pilots or military big wigs want to impress a girl they fancy.

I think we can all admit that China gave themselves a pretty impressive “toy” for Christmas, and that only time will tell how this development will effect U.S. defense strategy and relations with China.

For now lets all forget about stealth fighter planes and U.S./ China relations, and appreciate the Chinese presidents name, Hu Jintao, and what a great substitute it is for swear words. The next time you stub your toe, get cut off in traffic, or find out that one girl/guy you’ve had your eye on has a boyfriend/girlfriend or a husband/wife, don’t pollute yourself with a curse word. Instead of swearing just exclaim, “HU JINTAO!”