India vs China: IAF's Sukhoi Su-30 MKI vs Chengdu J-20 - Who has the most advanced fighter jet?

India and China once again entered into a scuffle on the Eastern border in the Tawang region. The Tawang scuffle was the first since deadly clashes in June 2020 when Indian and Chinese troops were involved in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh. India and China are the two major military powers in Asia, but are often at the loggerhead due to a disputed border in the Eastern sector. After reports of scuffle made the rounds of news, it was also learnt that India has deployed its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jets to fend off Chinese jet intrusion, who were flying close to the Indian LAC.

While India has advanced jets like Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, Dassault Rafale and Tejas LCA, China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has deployed its latest fighter Chengdu J-20 claiming it has stealth and is the most advanced fighter plane in all of Asia. However, Indian Air Force's topline fighter Sukhoi Su-30 MKI has multiple times engaged with the Chengdu J-20, proving its not that stealth as claimed by the Chinese. In 2018, the then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa said that the Su-30 MKI radar detected and tracked the Chengdu J-20 jet while the latter was flying over Tibet.

Here is a look at the features and capabilities of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and Chengdu J-20:

Sukhoi Su-30 MKI: Jointly developed by Soviet aviation giant Sukhoi and India's HAL, the twin-seater multirole fighter aircraft is one of the most potent and capable jets with the Indian Air Force and has proved its might at multiple occasions. The 21.9 metres long, 6.4 metres high and with a wingspan of 14.7 metres, the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI is exclusively made for India and has a maximum take-off weight is 38,800 kg.

The het gets two Al-31FP turbojet engines, and can reach a maximum speed of 2120 kilometres per hour (Mach 1.9) and climb at a rate of 300 metre per second. The fighter has a range of 3,000 kilometres without refuelling and get 8,000 kilometres of range with the in-flight refuelling system.

It gets an integrated avionics suite incorporating Elbit Su 967 head-up display (HUD), seven active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD) and primary cockpit instrumentation. The Su-30 MKI also happens to be one of the most heavily armed fighters in the world today and can carry India-made Brahmos supersonic missiles, a 30mm Gsh-30-1 cannon and 12 hardpoints capable of carrying missiles and bombs.

Chengdu J-20: The J-20 is a fifth-gen fighter jet made by Chinese aviation company Chengdu who have also made other jets like J-17 Thunder for Pakistani Air Force. It is a single-seat, multirole stealth fighter and is 20.5 metres long, has a height of 4.45 metres and its wingspan is 13.50 metres. The fighter can fly about 1,200 kilometres, which can be increased up to 2,700 kilometres with external fuel tanks. 

The aircraft can fly at a maximum speed of 2,100 kilometres per hour (about 1.8 mach), and China says it has Stealth abilities, which are not proven otherwise. The Chinese also claim that the J-20 has a passive electro-optical detection system which gives the pilot 360° coverage. The J-20 cockpit has two LCD displays and a head-up display (HUD). The J-20 can be operated through the traditional hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) system.