The J-20 made its first flight, lasting about 15 minutes, on 11 January 2011. A Chengdu J-10S served as the chase aircraft. China thus became the third nation in the world to "develop and test-fly a full-size stealth combat aircraft demonstrator", after the United States and Russia.
After the successful first flight, a ceremony was held. The test pilot of the J-20, Li Gang, Chief designer Yang Wei and General Li Andong (Deputy-Director of General Armaments Department, and Director of Science and Technology Commission of General Armaments Department of the PLA since 2000) attended the ceremony. The jet began making test flights again on 12 November after a month long break from flying.
A second test flight of an hour and twenty minutes took place on 17 April 2011. On 5 May 2011, a 55-minute test flight included retraction of the landing gear. In March 2012 a video was taken of the J-20 showing various maneuvers done in flight. On 10 May 2012, a second prototype was reported to have undergone low speed taxiing tests at an unspecified airport in Chengdu. The second aircraft began flight tests in May 2012.
In late October 2012, photographs of what believed to be a new prototype emerged. This aircraft features a different radome, speculated to house an AESA radar.
Pictures of J-20 testing its side weapon bays began to surface in late March 2013. Early pictures first revealed a missile launch rail being extended out of the right-side of the aircraft. Few days later, new photographs showed a mock up of an unidentified missile is installed on to the launcher.
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