White Emperor: China’s ‘NGAD’ 6th Generation Fighter Explained in 4 Words

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Just One Big Trick? China’s proposed ‘NGAD-like’ sixth-generation fighter, the White Emperor, unveiled as a mockup at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, aims to showcase Beijing’s technological ambitions.

-Allegedly integrating advanced stealth, AI for autonomous flight and drone coordination, and even near-space operational capabilities, the White Emperor is part of China’s long-term “China Dream” to dominate global power by 2049.

-However, skepticism surrounds the project, as its ambitious claims may serve to provoke U.S. overspending on countermeasures.

-While its eventual deployment remains uncertain, the White Emperor underlines China’s growing focus on modernizing its military and challenging U.S. air dominance in a future conflict.

China’s “White Emperor” Fighter: A Sixth-Gen Threat or Strategic Bluff?

China is running (or, flying) circles around the United States. They are creating world-class drone swarms capable of overwhelming US defenses while at the same time innovating fifth-generation warplanes that truly rival whatever the Americans have at their disposal. 

Meanwhile, they’ve created an impressive suite of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) defensive networks spread throughout the Indo-Pacific that could stunt or outright stop the US military from projecting power near China’s shores during any potential conflict between the two great, nuclear-armed powers. 

Now, it seems that Beijing has added yet another technological feather in its cap. The new sixth-generation warplane was known as the “White Emperor” (or, Baidi in Chinese). 

The History of the White Emperor Fighter 

First introduced as a mockup display at the now historic (because of all the incredible demonstrations by both China and Russia) 2024 Zhuhai Airshow in Guangdong, China, the presence of even the mockup at the event was enough to turn heads worldwide.

In fact, the White Emperor is more than just a new, next-generation warplane. Oh no! According to its exuberant proponents in China, it is an “integrated space-air fighter.” 

In other words, China wants you to believe they’ve built the real-world equivalent of an X-Wing from Star Wars.

Its proponents claim that the White Emperor will be equipped with such advanced stealth technology that it will be undetectable to all known radar systems. The bird will incorporate engines capable of supercruise (sustained supersonic flight without afterburners), enhancing both the speed and maneuverability of the bird. Indeed, many of the lessons learned from China’s ongoing fifth-generation warplane, the Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon” (and its newest variant, the two-seat J-20S), will likely be included in the design of the White Emperor. 

Chinese engineers claim that the White Emperor will be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI). Considering how competitive China has become in the artificial intelligence sector, this should be worrying. After all, AI is to this century what nuclear weapons were to the last: whichever power dominates it first will have significant—decisive—advantages over its rivals. 

AI will be used to enhance pilots’ situational awareness, create more efficient autonomous flight capabilities, and better coordinate with the drone swarms the White Emperor is believed to be equipped with. As part of its impressive (alleged) AI capabilities, the White Emperor will be unparalleled in its network-centric warfare programming. The bird will be akin to a flying sensor, sharing real-time data with satellites, drones, and other aircraft, multiplying its effectiveness in combat situations. 

And then, the Chinese salesmen take things a step further. They make the, shall we say, bold claim that the White Emperor will be able to knock satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) out of their orbits because the White Emperor can operate in near-space environments. 

What Does China Want?

China claims that the bird will be ready for deployment around 2035, aligning with China’s overarching, long-term military modernization goals. Those goals are found in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “China Dream” program, which essentially aims to make China the world’s dominant superpower by the time of the People’s Republic of China’s centennial in the year 2049. 

NGAD China 6th-Generation Fighter. Image: Screenshot.

Americans should not rest on their laurels when handling the China threat. It is real. And that threat is growing. Yet, China’s regime’s rosy projections and statements about the White Emperor seem somewhat exaggerated. It’s as if Beijing desperately wants America and the rest of the world to believe they’ve got a starfighter coming our way in the next decade. So, the obvious response from the United States and its partners would be to splurge all kinds of money they don’t have on building their system that can challenge the Chinese. 

This all seems a little convenient for China, which wants to defeat the Americans without ever having to fight them in a fair fight. Getting the US government to spend gobs of money it doesn’t really have on systems it doesn’t need—all to counteract systems China is claiming they’re building—seems like part of a larger psyop of some kind. Getting the Americans to blow their already unmanageable national budget on these mythical sixth-generation warplanes will ensure that the Americans cannot build enough, or field enough, of their existing highly technical fifth-generation warplanes.

J-20 Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Just like President Ronald Reagan did to the Soviet Union during his time in office, Xi Jinping might be trying to get the Americans to bankrupt themselves, seeking to build the wünderwaffe while China focuses on enhancing their more affordable, lethal, and practical systems.

Still, if China could ever get its White Emperor off the ground, it would be a significant challenger for the United States.

About the Author 

Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior Editor at 19FortyFive.com and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, The American Spectator, and the National Interest. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.