The Chengdu J-20 was China’s first production stealth fighter. Riddled with all kinds of doubts, misinformation, China has forged ahead in recent history to develop an aircraft that can compete with the best.
Known as the “Mighty Dragon” The J-20 is designed as an [air superiority fighter with precision strike capability. Developed based on requirements from the J-XX program in the 90s, this aircraft first flew in 2011.
Introduced into service in 2017 the procurement and delivery of this aircraft has been complex. Starting off with early models, each batch has made significant and noticeable differences both internally and externally. Slowly improving the aircraft even down to changes in the airframe has been China’s strategy for procurement and employment of this fighter. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/955829235493273680/1134325921164312597/Chengdu-J-XX-VLO-Prototype-35S.png
Currently, 2x PL-10 and 4x PL-15 can be carried internally, and the improved version of PL-15 that can carry 6x is under development.
There are still four pylons that can be added below the wings.
Thank you guys for the sources and information! Let’s keep it going. Would be cool to get a user made model for this aircraft, I could work on a flight model file if I have sufficient information. Also working on some custom missiles so might get around to PL-15 and PL-10 at some point. Certainly PL-12 is on my list also.
We’re within 3 years at the soonest, that being 0.7BRs added per year, with 0.3 - 0.7 added this year.
For a total of 2.7 14.7, and that’s before decompression.
5 years are more likely since we’re slowing down.
I’m concerned about nations like France, Sweden and debatably Russia and how they’ll perform without 5th generation aircraft. Would other nations substitute their missing gaps and wouldn’t that dilute the nation of their uniqueness as their best vehicle would be foreign?
The US, China and Britain seem to be set for a good future but the same can’t be said for some other nations (especially the US and China).
The J-20 also looks like a boat or that could just be me, a thrust vectoring J-20 with the WS-10G engines would be nice however and I’m not sure how well the initial production batches would perform in-game.
There is no RCS requirement for 5th generation fighters. The Su-57 can be considered a 5th gen because it incorporates RCS-reducing features, supermaneuverability, and some degree of sensor fusion.
The idea that the J-20 is an unmaneuverable boat is very much a myth. The Chinese have deliberately not chosen to incorporate thrust vectoring for the J-20 as they believe that thrust to weight ratio is more important. Even without TVC, the J-20 is maneuverable for its size.
(1:28-1:36 showing maneuverability at medium speeds, 2:03 as well)
There is an RCS requirement. Very low observable is stealth, low observable is what is considered stealth qualities. The difference between the two is huge but the actual numbers are debated.
The Su-57 very clearly and easily falls into the VLO (very low observable) category. As does the J-20.
One could argue maneuverability is entirely pointless for these fighters.
In the case of the J-20, the configuration is best optimized for maneuverability at supersonic speeds, which is important for performing actions such as notching fast in a BVR scenario. Pure subsonic maneuverability isn’t the focus of the design, but the videos that I’ve posted still indicates that it is very much adequate.
In a WVR scenario, PL-10 with HMD will prove more than sufficient, but the J-20 is likely to avoid such a scenario alltogether. If you want to take the words of J-20 pilots, they’ve stated that subsonic maneuverability of the J-20 is comparable to J-10. But it is likely that they won’t be using that maneuverability in most cases. The J-20 omits an internal gun as it is deemed a worthy sacrifice for weight savings.
The fighter with the closest aerodynamic configuration is probably the Typhoon. Both fighters are using canards that are positioned relatively far from the main delta wing. At the same time, there is an obvious size difference of the canards, the J-20 also has prominent LERX, and the J-20’s main fuselage is a big lifting body.
And yes, if someone has a 3D model of the J-20, or is making one and willing to share that would be appreciated. J-20 has one of the more unique aerodynamic configurations and a model could be beneficial to studying flight characteristics.
Of course, there are models already available online, but to get them you need to pay.
Dutch F-35 and Belgian F-35, Norwegian F-35 and Finnish F-35
If you read my message it was me concerned about the future of those nations as they lack 5th generation aircraft. I also mentioned how if you want to fill those gaps with foreign vehicles then you’re diluting those tech trees of their uniqueness and especially when top tier usually represents a nation and its effectiveness.
And those nations you listed were all foreign which goes back to my point, they’re valid but concerning options - I’m 90% sure Finland also doesn’t have any F-35s as of now, they only have 64 on order and 0 in service.
Su-57 and Su-75(LoL)
I said debatably Russia as some people doesn’t consider them true 5th generation aircraft and mainly due its poor RCS compared to vehicles like the F-22 or J-20, another reading issue.
The SU-75 we’ve seen so far has only been a mock up as well lmao, Russia doesn’t have any 5th generation aircraft outside of the SU-57 and even those are very scarce - and if you don’t consider the SU-57 a 5th generation aircraft then none at all.
So the J-20 will basically be a Eurofighter but on steroids and with more features here and there. I wonder how the J-35A will perform in-game however, will it be a boat like the F-35 (unlikely) or will it be somewhat agile at the very least?
J-35A is slimmer compared to the F-35 and has a higher degree of wing sweep, prioritizing more supersonic performance. The F-35 in general is well adapted for subsonic agility and is still high AOA capable, but it also doesn’t feature the best thrust-to-weight ratio and performance past mach due to less favorable drag characteristics.
F-35’s signature move at airshows, the “Dojo Drift.”
At the time I made the thread I could only find that NATO called it the “black eagle” and since then the official designation was “fagin” which I find to be very unattractive I’ve left the former title.
Black Eagle’s connotations are that of a “Dark Raptor”. I find it to be a good peer to the F-22’s namesake.
That’s not necessarily true.
It is not adequate, turn radius is not so important nor is instant turn rate. Sustained turns and high maximum overload are good qualities that it seems to lack. Still - they are not necessary at all so this is not an issue that needs to be remedied. The fighter should maintain stealth at all times and rapid maneuvers or responses are not necessary for something that shouldn’t be seen anyway - and certainly not surprised by the time it is.
These qualities give it enhanced short takeoff performance, rapid response and good handling qualities for high speed flight and in particular - high altitude performance. These are things they have focused on even with the J-8 series initially. It seems to be a true successor in that role with added stealth qualities.
I don’t think it is necessary, Gaijin won’t be modeling them properly anyway.
One plane to rule them all is not “plenty of options”, it’s just boring. The game was fine with Germany having nothing better than the Me-262 for YEARS. The addition of the CL-13 and other copy / paste vehicles after ruined the game.
This is not the thread for this debate, regardless claims that the Su-57 isn’t stealth are baseless and have already been discussed to great lengths in other threads. I can link them here if needed.
No, there are very few similarities. The J-20 uses a proper delta-canard config and far superior AESA vs mechanical scan. Design goals for the two aircraft are quite different. The basic aerodynamic configuration is the only similarity and it is hardly one at that.
