If recent images of JH-X are to be taken at face value, this aircraft is the most clear example yet of the emergence of a distinctively Chinese way of war.
Its closest relative would seem to be the FB-22 ‘Strike Raptor’, a proposal to fulfil USAF’s then interim bomber requirement. One of the reasons the FB-22 was not pursued is because it offered insufficient range for USAF requirements. Here we see a contrast, borne of geography, between Chinese and US requirements leading to different solutions. Another point of distinction from recent American practice is the use of side-by-side seating as on Su-34, A-6, F-111, and larger bombers. Note that PLAAF wanted side-by-side seating on JH-7 as well, so this is not a new feature of Chinese thinking. And finally, JH-X is clearly designed to go ‘high and fast’, as distinct from both F-35 and LRS-B.
Of course the United States is not the only point of comparison here: JH-X is distinct also from Su-34. This can largely be explained by the latter’s elongated development cycle on account of the collapse of the Soviet Union; in the longer-term (i.e. ~2030) I would not be at all surprised to see a ‘Strike Firefox’ developed from the current T-50 platform.
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