China's J-20 Mighty Dragon has evolved into the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), with open-source estimates suggesting the country has now produced around 500 fifth-generation stealth fighters. The rapid expansion of the programme, supported by successive upgrades and increasing domestic manufacturing capabilities, has drawn global attention as Beijing continues to strengthen its military aviation sector.
According to a recent report by The War Zone (TWZ), defence analyst Andreas Rupprecht estimates that approximately 500 J-20s have been delivered. The assessment is based on production serial numbers, satellite imagery, factory observations and operational deployments, as China has not officially disclosed the size of its J-20 fleet.