Something unusual appeared in a recent satellite image of an airbase in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the image, a J-20 appears to be taxiing from the runway at Anshan Airport, a military-civilian, dual-use airport in northeastern China that is the home base of the 1st Aviation Brigade of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is China’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Only three units are known to operate the J-20. Two of them are noncombat units, the 172nd Aviation Brigade at Cangzhou Airbase and the 176th Aviation Brigade at Dingxin Airbase; the third is a combat unit, the 9th Aviation Brigade, which is temporarily stationed at Quzhou Airbase. Therefore, it is unusual for a J-20 to operate from Anshan Airport, which is also known as Anshan Airbase.
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