5 counterfeit weapons that make up China's military potential

Many of China's mainstay weapons are believed to be copies of other countries' military technology.

The J-7 fighter is an almost identical copy of the Soviet MiG-21 model. Photo: Sina.

To catch up with Russia and the US in military technology, China has conducted many espionage activities abroad. Military experts believe that at least 5 of China's main weapons systems are produced by stealing and copying equipment from major powers, according to National Interest.

J-7 fighter

In 1961, in an effort to ease rising tensions between the two countries, the Soviet Uniontransferred the design and manufacturing materials, as well as the license to produce the advanced MiG-21 interceptor fighter toChina. With this action, Moscow wants to show its efforts to narrow the differences, showing that bilateral cooperation is still possible.

However, the Soviet Union's goodwill did not work, and Sino-Soviet tensions continued to rise, almost leading to war in the late 1960s. Based on the blueprints transferred by Moscow, Beijing developed the J-7 fighter with features not inferior to the original MiG-21. China also overcame many of the J-7's design problems without Soviet help.

The country later produced an export version of the F-7 to compete directly with the MiG-21. China also sold many J-7s to the US, helping the US Air Force train and gain experience in fighting Soviet fighters.

J-11 fighter

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was in dire need of customers to revive its stagnant defense industry, while China also sought to buy high-tech equipment after being hit by an arms embargo imposed by the United States and Europe in 1989.

In the 1990s, Moscow and Beijing signed a number of major arms deals, including contracts for the sale, technology transfer and licensing of the Su-27 heavy fighter. China became the first country outside the former Soviet Union to acquire the Su-27 fighter, which cost $30-40 million each between 1992 and 2000.

However, in 1995, Beijing announced that it did not want to buy fully assembled Su-27s from Moscow, but wanted to be licensed to produce the aircraft domestically. The two sides signed a contract worth 2.5 billion USD, allowing China to produce 200 Su-27 fighters with the domestic designation J-11, on the condition that they use Russian engines and electronic systems.

J-11 fighter in service with the Chinese Air Force. Photo: People.

Russia got a taste of the bitter fruit in 2004, when the contract was only half-fulfilled. After assembling the first 100 aircraft, China announced that it would cancel the contract for the remaining 100 aircraft, citing the reason that the Su-27 no longer met their needs for the ability to carry precision-guided weapons.

Three years later, China announced that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was producing the J-11B, a fighter jet that is said to have 90% domestic components. Although Beijing insists the J-11 is not related to the Su-27, military insiders can easily see the similarities between the two aircraft.

This incident, along with a similar one in the S-300 missile sale contract, has made Russia increasingly cautious about transferring military technology to China.

J-31 stealth fighter

Before China’s industrial espionage network was discovered, many US analysts suspected that China was stealing information about the F-35 super fighter project. This suspicion became clearer when Beijing debuted the J-31 stealth fighter.

The J-31 looks similar to the F-35, but lacks the vertical take-off capability of the F-35B variant. The Chinese fighter does not have the advanced electronic systems of the US fighter, but it can operate on aircraft carriers, becoming a competitor to the F-35 in the export market.

Drones

In 2010, China was still far behind the United States in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. Over the years, Beijing has gradually caught up and is producing a variety of UAVs that are capable of competing with Washington in the international arms market.

A Chinese UAV that looks similar to the US MQ-1 Predator. Photo: Popsci.

US intelligence believes that Chinese hackers have stolen technology from many sources, including the US government and private companies involved in UAV production projects.

In 2016, when the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) unveiled the CH-4B armed UAV, observers immediately noticed its uncanny resemblance to the famous American MQ-9 Reaper. The two UAVs have identical shapes and perform the same reconnaissance and attack functions.

Night vision technology

In the late 1970s, the US military invested heavily in night vision devices. They were equipped on soldiers, armored vehicles and fighter jets to gain a major advantage in conflicts from the 1980s.

To end this advantage, China has organized espionage to collect and copy American equipment through data theft, as well as using business cover to buy US-controlled technology.

The US Department of Defense's 2013 annual report on China said Beijing has been successful in its efforts to steal Washington's advanced military technology, including state-of-the-art night vision equipment.

According to VNE