China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently simulated a potential conflict scenario in which F-35 stealth fighter jets from Japan attempt to evade Chinese air defenses and launch an attack on Shanghai. The war games, carried out by researchers at the PLA’s National Defence University’s College of Joint Operations, revealed key insights into China’s detection capabilities against stealth aircraft, including American and Japanese F-35s and F-22s.
In ten rounds of simulations, PLA researchers found that current land-based radars can detect stealth fighters from approximately 110 miles away, which may prevent these jets from reaching the 15-mile precision-bombing range. However, if the F-35s operate in “beast mode” to use larger, longer-range missiles, they sacrifice stealth and become detectable at up to 280 miles. Interestingly, the simulations highlighted that F-35s carrying cruise missiles, which have a range of over 560 miles, could still pose a threat from Japan, as the closest point between Japan and Shanghai is just 497 miles.
The study was presented at the 36th China Simulation Conference, marking the first time the PLA publicly shared results from simulations targeting a major Chinese city. It revealed the PLA’s reliance on three radars, some operating at average levels, to protect Shanghai, potentially underestimating the threat. Alongside radar defenses, the PLA has powerful AWACS aircraft, stealth radars on naval vessels, and Earth observation satellites capable of tracking stealth jets.
This analysis comes amid the U.S. military’s expansion of its F-22 fleet in Japan, increasing Chinese concerns over regional security. Recent satellite images even revealed full-scale mockups of U.S. fighter jets on Chinese runways, hinting at preparations for anti-stealth countermeasures.