The Japanese MoD has published the estimated number of fighter jets owned by the Chinese military.
>>65399278Japan has no counter to this.
>>65399281They don't need a direct counter for the mass, they just need to be a pain in the ass enough that they can't be steamrolled, which 140 F-35s along with 50-70 F-15JSI's is likely sufficient until GCAP arrives in the late 2030s.Also OP, these japanese MoD figures are intentionally conservative and only represent in-service airframes as of several months ago, NOT the number of airframes actually manufactured and awaiting entry to service.We know from OSINT the J-20 fleet for example is approaching 400 airframes, but a good number aren't ready for service yet and are in various stages of finalized manufacturing/testing before entry to service.
>>65399278implessive. i am demorarized.
>>65399284Why are you claiming yet to be manufactured jets should be considered part of the J-20 fleet?
>>65399278J-20 #324 was seen back in September 2025 so there should be around 400 J-20s by now, maybe 500 by 2027
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan should have a nuclear deterrent. They are Western Democracies on on the doorstep of an emerging Nuclear superpower and a nuclear rogue state and their one ace in the hole, the United States has become less reliable of late, it is time time to rip the band aid off. The EU as a whole should also have a deterrent that doesn't rely on France.
>>65399288I'm not?I'm reminding you why these numbers will be smaller than OSINT numbers and WHY.
>>65399289See >>65399284They're not reporting airframes built, they're reporting airframes they can confirm are in operational service.
>>65399278Japan's 147 F35s solo this btw
>>65399316Well they only have about 40 in service.The good news is, the remaining ~100+ jets to be delivered are all TR-3/Block 4 standard.The bad thing is they can't enter service until TR-3/Block 4 are ready. Though initial combat capability is expected in the next year or two, they're usable for training at the moment.
>>65399326>The good news is, the remaining ~100+ jets to be delivered are all TR-3/Block 4 standardIsn't that the block that's being delivered without radar though?
>>65399327It hasn't been confirmed for anyone except the US military. At the moment Japan isn't confirmed to have brought any Lot 17+ Block 4 jets into service, so it's possible, but we simply don't know.Again, irrelevant anyway since they don't have software to use the radar even if it was installed.
>>65399281Never in a million years
>>65399278IMPLEASSIVE
>>65399281Ship-based AA?
>>65399281The US made 191 F-35s last year.
>>65399289Are you telling me they don't give random numbers to their planes so that your adversary cannot estimate your number of planes from partial observations?!It seemed so obvious to me I assumed it was done :/
>>65399278>Japanese MoD has publishedLink?
>>65400051That'd be psychotic
>>65400081Then why isn't Hegseth doing it?
>>65400082He doesn't even count his drinks.
>>65400051Serials are something no one fucks with if you ever want to properly document any aircraft's maintenance
>>65399327There aren’t any being delivered without radar.
>>65400081>>65400092Not sure it really matters with modern intelligence gathering techniques, but it was an actual subject during WWII with aerial reconnaissance, called the German Tank Problem.
>>65400082Because it doesn't involve him playing tough guy in front of a camera.
