Chengdu J-20 5th Generation Aircraft News & Discussions

[gambit]

Wouldn't transition from F-111 to F-15 have made more sense?

I requested F-16. I knew what I wanted.

 

[Deino]

The WS-15 is already conducting flight tests aboard a modified J-11 ... it shouldn't be long before it moves to the J-20 for testing, which I think is when we are going to get the pictures

Has this been confirmed?

 

[PeacefulWar]

USAF veteran. F-111 Cold War, then F-16 Desert Storm.


In order of accomplishments: Good => Excellent => Outstanding.

The J-20 is an excellent/outstanding effort by China, and the Chinese engineers have all the rights to be proud of what they did. Here is the deal...

In designing a low radar observable body, there are three rules to go by:

- Control of quantity of radiators
- Control of array of radiators
- Control of modes of radiation

They are not so much rules that can be broken as they are guidelines that there are degrees of obedience to them.

The sphere is the reference calibration body in radar design. Look up 'Lincoln Calibration Sphere'. The reason the sphere is used is because the sphere is the most obedient to the three rules.

The J-20, as opined by many, is not as obedient to the three rules as the American F-22 and F-35. Ultimately, the only way to know is to have all the current 'stealth' aircrafts under 3rd party supervised measurement, which will never happen. So for now, all we have is what we observe and educated guesses.

We probably will never know the answer.
Personally I think J-20 is not as stealth as F-22 and F-35.
But the gap is small enough so that J-20 can have a good fight against these jets.
This by itself is huge, no other country other than Russia has the capability at the moment.
People easily forget that fact that USA is just far far ahead of the world in terms of military tech in debates. China is leaving rest players behind in the journey of chasing up USA.
This is the significance of J-20 IMHO

I requested F-16. I knew what I wanted.

Ahhhhh, but F-15 is so much cooler!
I guess you want to fly a bird alone? (all F-15 are dual seats IIRC)

 

[gambit]

Ahhhhh, but F-15 is so much cooler!
I guess you want to fly a bird alone? (all F-15 are dual seats IIRC)

The F-15 is the strongman powerlifter. The F-16 is the gymnast.

 

[Gomig-21]

The F-15 is the strongman powerlifter. The F-16 is the gymnast.

Since you were a crew man, which one was easier to work on, the 111 of F-16? And what specific type of maintenance were you assigned to work on these fighter jets, anything particular or just the general maintenance and stuff like that?

 

[LKJ86]

Via @JacKsonbobo from Weibo

 

[kungfugymnast]

Well I think the PLAAF would only put the WS-15 as one of the engines, with the other one being the WS-10 for testing reasons but I would expect superior aerodynamic performance given this extra thrust (albeit I don't think the speed would increase too much given the flanker's design as you mentioned). Regarding Wikipedia's Mach 2.4 claim, I don't think that has any basis. The J-20 is not a dedicated interceptor so why would it need to fly so fast?

The fastest Russian flanker Su-27 is mach 2.35. Fastest China flanker could hit Mach 2.4 is considered miracle with that design.

Flat belly long fuselage design could achieve higher maximum speed. Example, the Mig-25/31 thrust is around >35,000lb thrust (around F22 F119 engine) and could easily reach Mach 2.82. Mig-31 with 4x R33 could go max Mach 2.4 at above 36,000ft thanks to fuselage & wings design sacrificing maneuverability. Old F-15A with only 23,000lb thrust could go Mach 2.5. J-20 with AL-31 could reach mach 2.5, could be faster with WS-15 engines. The J-20 could serve as interceptor for its speed and sneak attack.

There are already rumors that J-20 with WS-15 will be designated J-20B

 

[Deino]

Since when are the CHinese Flankers rated at Mach 2.4? ... and where is written that the J-20 can reach M. 2.5??

 

[Figaro]

Since when are the CHinese Flankers rated at Mach 2.4? ... and where is written that the J-20 can reach M. 2.5??

Apparently Wikipedia

Has this been confirmed?

According to this post.

 

[Deino]

Apparently Wikipedia

According to this post.

Thanks ... but in both cases I'm highly sceptical esp for the second "confirmation"

 

[Figaro]

Thanks ... but in both cases I'm highly sceptical esp for the second "confirmation"

It is said the first article's author is very reliable ...

 

[lcloo]

Blindly chasing for maximum supersonic speed has been proven a a useless attempt for fighter jet as in the case of F-104 starfighter which performed poorly in Vietnam war.

High supersonic speed is important in recon jets, and in a lesser level for 1960s interceptor jets. Today's modern fighters need to be able to detect enemy first and shoot first, electronic superiority and stealth are far more desired than high speed.

Interceptors jets were primarily designed to counter long range bombers carrying nuke bombs, the 1960s doctrine does not applied today because modern heavy bombers are now carrying long range cruise missiles with range of more than 1,000 km. And they can launch their missiles and turn back home before the interceptors arrive within firing range.

J20's size and range is designed for the geographical defence of China from seaward side attack. Experience from operating on large aircraft like SU-27SK, J11A/B and SU-30MKK/MK2 might have big influence on the size of J20. On the East China sea, enemy will come in from islands on the East side as well as from aircraft carriers, thus long range fighter jets like flankers and J20 play important roles for keeping enemy at bay up to 1,000km from Chinese shores.

J20 and Flankers will compliment each other in the South China Sea as well. Lessons learnt from China-Vietnam sea battles is that lack of long range fighter jets put China at disadvantage on control of air space. Flankers filled in the void after 1990s, and J20 will continue to cover the air space beyond 2040, thanks to their long combat range.

And Flankers and J20 are designed as air superiority fighters, not interceptors nor strike jets.

 

[Figaro]

And Flankers and J20 are designed as air superiority fighters, not interceptors nor strike jets.

The strike fighter/interceptor theory flown around for the J-20 has got to be one of the stupidest theories ever. Even dumber than the Mig 25 super-dogfighter theory. The people who somehow believe this theory need to ask themselves the following question : why would China design a dedicated strike or interceptor aircraft to counter the F-22/F-35? Only after AVIC released an official description saying the J-20 was an air superiority fighter did these dumb theories finally go away (for the most part).

 

[Gomig-21]

Couple of questions: is this pretty much the final paint scheme or is there a RAM coming in the eventual pipelines? I'm guessing there probably is to cover all the panel seams and rivets?

Also, has there been any discussion of the J-20 operating slave drones? Has any of the literature expressed that to be part of the J-20's future capabilities or nothing of that sort just yet? Thanks.

 

[Deino]

According to the well known blogger Pupu - and in contrast to the recent report in the SCMP - the next batch of J-20s use a thrust enhanced WS-10 variant. He also noted that general Zhang Youxia (Head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission) was present during the test flights and was both impressed and satisfied.

via https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4526516967515937