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Alcott Wei

The chief designer on the J-20 stealth fighter jet has been removed from the website of China’s national research institute, amid a sweeping campaign to stamp out corruption in the defence sector.
Yang Wei, 62, had been listed as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the top academic body for science and technology.
But as of Monday, his name was no longer on the site, according to a snapshot from Internet Archive, which seeks to preserve online content.
Yang has not appeared in public for more than a year. No explanation has been given for his absence, or for the removal of his name from the site.
He joined the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China in 1985 and has long been involved in fighter jet development, including the fifth-generation J-20 stealth aircraft.


Yang was promoted to the position of deputy manager of AVIC in 2018. The aircraft manufacturer is a key player in China’s military modernisation and a major supplier and developer of fighter jets.
The latest development follows the removal of Yang’s profile, along with that of AVIC general manager Hao Zhaoping, from the company’s website, in January last year. Their positions have since been filled.
Yang’s first big project was the third-generation J-10 fighter jet, which made its maiden flight in 1998. He went on to lead the design of the J-20, the country’s first domestically developed heavy twin-engine stealth fighter.
The J-20 entered service in 2017 and was seen as a symbol of China’s military modernisation – and an equivalent to America’s F-22 Raptor.
It has since been deployed in geopolitical hotspots in the region, including near the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.
Yang was also part of the ruling Communist Party’s top decision-making body, the Central Committee, as an alternate member from 2017 to 2022.
He was elected as an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017.
His removal from the research body comes as Beijing has stepped up a long-running campaign against corruption in the military and defence industry.
That has seen a number of leadership changes in the past three years at AVIC and other defence firms including China Electronics Technology Group Corporation and the China National Nuclear Corporation.




Former AVIC chairman Tan Ruisong was investigated in August 2024 and expelled from the party in February last year. His successor, Zhou Xinmin, was expelled by the National People’s Congress last month, suggesting Zhou could be facing further disciplinary action or criminal charges.
In January, the defence ministry announced that Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Liu Zhenli, head of the CMC’s Joint Staff Department, were under investigation.
That leaves just two of the original seven members on China’s highest military command – President Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin, the second-ranking vice-chairman responsible for military discipline.


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Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector


Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector.


J-20 fighter jet designer scrubbed from Chinese Academy of Sciences website

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector

Yang Wei has not appeared in public for more than a year, and it comes amid an anti-corruption campaign in the defence sector