Two J-20 Mighty Dragons fly over a Chinese airshow in Changchun, Jilin, in August 2022. China is on track to dramatically scale up production of the J-20 in the near future. (Wikimedia Commons/N509FZ)

Can China’s Chengdu Beat Lockheed Martin at Fighter Jet Production?

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China is on track to build as many as 400 J-20 fighter jets per year by 2027—double Lockheed Martin’s current output of the F-35.

As of July 2026, Lockheed Martin has built more than 1,300 F-35 Lightning IIs, making it the most successful fifth-generation stealth fighter to date. In January, the aerospace and defense giant announced that it had delivered 191 F-35s in all variants during calendar year 2025, setting a record for the program. The previous delivery record was 142 aircraft in 2021.

Lockheed Martin also announced that its annual F-35 production was at a pace five times greater than any other allied combat fighter program.

The keyword from the firm may have been “allied,” however—as another fifth-generation fighter could be closing the gap with the F-35 at an alarming rate.

China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon is now the world’s second-most produced fifth-generation aircraft. The Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, the J-20’s manufacturer, has built around 500 units of the fighter jet since its introduction in 2017; there are already more J-20s than American F-22 Raptors (187 units) or Russian Su-57 Felons (~45 units). At current production and acquisition levels, China is expected to have more J-20s in its inventory than the US armed forces have F-35s by 2030.

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© The National Interest