Chinese J-10C Shoots Down J-20 Fifth Generation Fighter in Simulated Air-to-Air Combat: How Did It Happen?

A Chinese J-10C ‘4+ generation’ fighter has been credited with achieving a simulated shootdown of a J-20 fifth generation fighter during air-to-air combat exercises, according to reports from multiple Chinese state media outlets. J-10C pilot Xiao Nan was operating with support from a KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C), which carries one of the largest and most powerful airborne radars in the world, to provide greater situational awareness against stealth targets, thereby evening the odds against the J-20 which has advanced radar evading capabilities. The J-10C pilot simulated an air-to-air missile launch against the J-20, but afterwards could no longer detect the target, leading him to request support from the KJ-500 which allowed the missiles to reach its target. A J-16D electronic attack aircraft also participated in the exercise, and may have played a key role in jamming the J-20’s sensors to prevent it from shooting down the J-10C before it was itself targeted.

The engagement in question is the first in the history of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force to see a fourth generation fighter achieve a victory against a fifth generation fighter, although Chinese experts have widely acknowledged that this would not have been possible had supporting aircraft not been deployed to strengthen the J-10C’s position. The J-20 fleet has for years been assigned to help Chinese fighter units train in counter-stealth tactics. Leading expert on the J-20 program, author of the book China’s Stealth Fighter: The J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’ and the Growing Challenge to Western Air Dominance, Abraham Abrams, observing that “geographically distributing fifth generation units widely ensured there were opportunities for fighter units across all theatre commands to train… against stealth fighters.” Abrams elaborated in his book that the J-20 has engaged the Air Force’s most capable fourth generation fighter the J-16 in multiple exercises.

Even when its stealth features were nullified, such as with the use of Luneberg reflective lenses, the J-20 has consistently proven capable of coming out on top against fourth generation fighters. Under such circumstances, however, engagements with J-16s have at times been highly protracted. The J-10C and J-16 were both developed in parallel to the J-20, and use many of the same technologies, with the J-16 being the largest of the three and carrying a significantly heavier and more powerful radar, while the J-10C is by far the lightest, and is limited by a shorter range and smaller sensor suite. While the J-20 retains distinct superiority over both, the J-10C has achieved impressive results in multiple exercises in the past. The fighter was reported in 2020 to have consistently outperformed Russian-supplied Su-35 fighters during mock combat engagements in China, and has repeatedly proven capable of going head to head with the J-16, leading it to be considered one of the two most capable single engine fighter classes in the world alongside the American F-35.

The J-10C’s capabilities gained significant publicity following its first ever combat engagement in early May 2025, with the fighter credited with the shootdown of at least one French-supplied Rafale operated by the Indian Air Force, and possibly with up to four of the highly costly French aircraft. Although European fighters were not considered capable of operating on a comparable level to their modern Chinese and American counterparts, the considerable public relations efforts made by France to promote the Rafale over two decades made its overwhelming defeat by a much lighter aircraft in its first ever air-to-air engagements particularly harmful to its aviation sector’s reputation. There remains a possibility that amid renewed efforts to market the J-10C for export, including to Colombia, Indonesia, Egypt and Iran among others, a simulated engagement between the fighter and the J-20 may have been set up under conditions that would favour the J-10C.

Supporting the J-10C with the KJ-500 and J-16D, and potentially placing some handicap on the J-20, could have allowed the lighter fighter to gain a victory that would further draw attention to its cutting edge capabilities. With the J-20 widely considered the world’s most capable air superiority fighter currently in service, the shootdown by a J-10C, even if under highly favourable circumstances, is expected to burnish the lighter fighter’s reputation. There remains little question, however, that without such support, an engagement would be highly one-sided in favour of the J-20. It remains in question how realistic the scenario may have been, with aircraft like KJ-500s expected to be made priority targets for J-20 units, and being vulnerable at particularly long ranges due to their large sizes and lack of manoeuvrability. This raises the possibility that the scripted engagement may not have allowed the J-20 to neutralise the KJ-500 before engaging its target. Much will likely never be revealed regarding the circumstances of the engagement, but its timing coinciding with a sales push for the J-10C remains cause for suspicion, particularly when considering the tremendous superiority that the J-20 has consistently demonstrated in the past.