Legacies of successful combat aircraft designs are almost always founded by individuals. Russia had Mikhail Simonov. The United Kingdom had Sydney Camm. The United States had Kelly Johnson and Ed Heineman. But who is the face of Chinese fighter jet design?
Until recently, Simonov, the father of the Su-27, would have been a good choice, as modern Chinese military aviation owes a considerable debt to the Russian master. It was also Simonov who pushed through the initial sale of the Su-27 to China, launching a reluctant post-Soviet, Russian government into the fighter export business.
But not now. With the unveiling of the J-20, the Dragon Soar, and the Pterodactyl within the last eight months, it's clear there is an enterprising, fast-moving aircraft design house somewhere in the Chengdu aviation complex.
The leader of that group appears to be a master designer named Yang Wei [pictured above], who is now the subject of a Chinese-language profile rapidly buzzing around the Internet. I still lack a coherent English interpretation, but the gist seems to be that Yang is credited with pioneering fly-by-wire flight controls and successfully fielding the J-10, JF-17 and J-20 fighters. We'll surely be hearing more about him.
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