Not only the Americans but now the Russians are claiming China's Chengdu J-20 "stealth" fighter is a purloined copy of one of their own stealth designs.

It's long been known to U.S. military circles the J-20 incorporates many features supposed to have been unique to the Northrop Grumman F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Chinese spies over the past decade successfully infiltrated Northrop Grumman to steal top secret plans for the F-35 and funnel them to China.

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One of these Chinese spies was Su Bin, who was indicted this January and sentenced to five years in prison for his role as ringleader in a hacking operation that stole secret data about the F-35.

The U.S. government said the operation also involved two officers form the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Su admitted to U.S. prosecutors their spy operation had made "important contributions to our (China's) national defense scientific research development."

A Russian state-owned magazine now indirectly claims China did the same to Russia.

The J-20 stealth fighter jet bears striking physical similarities to an experimental prototype for a fifth generation jet produced by Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, claims Dmitry Drozdenko, deputy editor of the Russian military magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland."

"In my opinion, the machine is based on the Russian MiG 1.44.," he said.

The MiG 1.44 was designed to compete with the Sukhoi PAK FA at the preliminary design stage, and made its maiden flight in 2000.

Drozdenko noted the J-20 is very similar to the MiG 1.44, especially in its outward appearance.

He left unanswered how the Chinese could have designed a fighter with surprising similarities to Russia's without China having obtained this information by spying or hacking.

MiG 1.44 was a technology demonstrator developed by MiG incorporating many fifth generation jet fighter aspects such as advanced avionics, stealth technology, supermaneuverability and supercruise.

The design's development took too long, however, and was hobbled by repeated and lengthy postponements due to a chronic lack of funds.

The MiG 1.44 made its maiden flight in February 2000, nine years behind schedule. The plane was cancelled later that year and Russia chose the PAK FA as its fifth generation fighter.

TagsChengdu J-20, Northrop Grumman F-35, Su Bin, Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, MiG 1.44, Dmitry Drozdenko, Arsenal of the Fatherland