As the U.S. starts to forward-deploy more of its F-35 Lightning, China and Russia have been putting the finishing touches on their own batches of fifth-generation aircraft — and they all express vastly different ideas about what the future of air combat will look like.


For the U.S., stealth and sophisticated networks define its vision for the future of air combat with the F-22 and F-35.

For China, the plan is to use range to take out high-value targets with the J-20.

For Russia, the PAK-FA shows that it seems to think dogfighting isn't dead.

Here's how the F-35 stacks up to the competition.

 The F-35 Lightning II