The Chinese J2 "stealth" fighter during its "successful" test flight January, 11th 2011.

Over the last two weeks the media has been abuzz with the explosive news that the Chinese had launched a successful “fifth generation” stealth fighter test during a visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the US has been taken by surprise by this leap forward.  But how accurate is this actual theme and what facts is it based on?  If you follow the story history you see the western press has been busily repeating what might be nothing more than Chinese propaganda with little regard to actual facts or official confirmation.

The story originated when photos were allegedly leaked onto the internet out of China followed by a statement from supposed expert sources in the country. With little done to stop this “leak” by Chinese authorities it clearly implies it was no mistake.  From there the story was picked up by western media and the meme was born.  Suddenly everyone was talking about how the Chinese have leaped forward and are building a fleet to threaten the US dominance of the Pacific.

But is this even an actual stealth fighter at all?  Many of us who have worked in aviation didn’t see a stealth fighter but a stew of pieces of several western aircraft all stuck together in a cool plane.  Nathan Hodge of the Wall Street Journal hosted an excellent discussion on January, 19th with Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consulting firm, that pointedly laid out all the reasons this current jet isn’t really stealthy at all from the odd canards on the front, to the exposed engines (full story here http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/01/19/chinas-j-20-fighter-stealthy-or-just-stealthy-looking/ ) .  Several stories have followed picking up that jet as seen in the pictures and video doesn’t meet any of the standards of what would be considered a stealth aircraft beyond it was labeled as such in the initial “leak”.

But this didn’t slow down the meme.  I listened to experts on WTOP in DC talking about how the Chinese now had a long range fighter that could take on our F-22′s in air-to-air combat.  This was all fantasy.  We don’t even know if it can go supersonic yet no matter if it can conduct air-to-air refueling or what kind of avionics and targeting systems are onboard.  Frankly, no one even knows if its anything more than a remote controlled airplane from the blurry footage we have seen, yet the meme was born and grew by the day.

Finally, this week Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell chastised the press on the whole affair.  He said “reports went “a little over the top” in proclaiming that China had achieved stealth fighter capability, or had even run a “successful test” of its J-20 prototype. “I think that is another case of us all being a little premature here,” Morrell told Pentagon reporters in a Wednesday briefing.” according to Kevin Baron at Stars and Stripes.

So, why is the press so eager to buy into Chinese information that is of dubious origination but so skeptical of our own claims?  It goes to the traditional story telling world.  You have all the richest elements of an intriguing story with all of the juicy elements the instant news cycle loves like the US being caught by surprise by the burgeoning and somehow superior Chinese; the leap ahead in technology; and the political timing of the flight occurring during Gates visit. It all fell happily into the laps of a lot of journalists who might not really know enough about the technology to question the story at all so they ran with their usual “experts” to get the story out quickly.

There are a couple of lessons here.  First, it is critical for both government public affairs leaders and public relations experts in industry to ensure the media is getting facts and not allow a meme to go unchecked.  The story broke on January 11th but Mr. Morrell didn’t pointedly shoot it down directly until January 26th.  Over 15 days to present an official denial is a long time for what is usually a pretty agile Pentagon communications response system and was probably tied to the challenge of confirming facts and getting an official intelligence based assessment.

Second, the real issue lies in media professionals who are happy to accept the possible propaganda of another nation so eagerly when it fits the political framework of the day.  In this case, the story played right into the idea we are somehow falling behind the surging Chinese technology and economy.  The Chinese masterfully handed an information operations coups to journalists too eager to accept anything that confirms the nagging suspicion we are failing as a nation to lead the world of innovation.  Journalists must confirm stories with true experts.  I actually heard a retired Army Major as an expert on one national news outlet who knew nothing about aviation bemoaning our unpreparedness for this new red tide.

Skepticism is a healthy habit of any good quality journalist. Questioning the truth of our government is now an accepted practice in the western press, they need to approach other countries with just as healthy a doubt.  Maybe it really is a stealth fighter that is leaps ahead for them but nothing we have seen from any source provides anything to demonstrate that is the case.  Chances are better than anything else that the Chinese are high-fiving each other at yet another propaganda score at the US expense.