Chengdu J-20 'BLACK EAGLE' - History, Design, Performance & Discussion

We don’t know the exact weight of the J-20 though. There are many sources that state an empty weight of 17,000kg but I also kinda doubt that. It’s definitely closer to ~18-19 ton range imo.

There could be a way to kinda calculate it, @Yamahagi did a rough calculation with the J-16 iirc. I’d imagine Gaijin would use some random source they find.

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The F-35 T/W is absolutely not confirmed by any means.
It has a variable bypass turbofan unlike the J-20, which means it can alter the static thrust conditions and provide a better power band for the engine whilst also improving fuel efficiency in that entire range.

I would hazard that the F-35B is certainly worse, however.

Of course this whole discussion is silly about BFM when the J-20 doesn’t utilize a gun, or was that not true? I haven’t seen anything about them being equipped with one.

An internal gun was tested at some point on one of the prototypes, though as of current, no production J-20 has fitted it, mainly to save weight and also a general belief that BFM/WVR combat is becoming increasingly rare so there’s not many scenarios that require it. Up close the J-20 has 2x PL-10s (maybe more with external wing hardpoints, but they’ve only been seen carrying PL-15 on the wings for now.)

Well F35’s TW ratio will not exceed 1.24 at all points, since that is with max thrust, obviously J20 biggest issue is the weight, cause it can be anything from sort of 16-19 tonnes, and I used WS 10B for thrust which will be lower than WS 10C and future Ws15. If we use 19 tonnes and WS10B, then J20’s highest twr will be higher however at lower alt/speed F35 will have the edge. Accounting the optimistic values for J-20 however u could get as much as 1.6 or even 1.8 if we want to go that far to say WS15 does more than 15 tonnes.

Actual maximum thrust is classified, and so is the weight. You have no data to support this so unless you have something to share (permissible for use on the forum), then we can leave it at that. I suppose you could start off with “according to wiki…”

PW’s official chart, although this could just be stating the obvious

You mean this ?

IDK,J-20 should be along the lines of dragon or fagin.

So is that the thrust with the maximum bypass ratio? There are so many more variables as I’ve already stated - it cannot be taken at face value.

This is maximum thrust it can get in theory. However this is the design and not actual aircraft. 19.1 kN is the stated requirement. I would assume this is achieved under optimal conditions.

It is not the same as discussing 70s engine designs from bench to installed. There may be losses on bench as compared to installed and who knows if the bench number is the actual maximum output in static conditions or if it can handle much higher output at even low or moderate speeds once airflow through the intake is sufficient.

There are too many variables, quit replying to this if you have nothing of substance to use for comparison.

Gunfighting seems to be dead. I’ve never heard of a gun being used on anything other than helicopters.

The J-20 is a pure missile bus with long range designed to hit tankers, AWCAS, and other support elements hard and fast. If it gets into the range or helicopters that PL-10 cant handle then he messed up badly.

Classified numbers are irrelevant for this context, it will be added to the game with the publicly available numbers.

Haven’t they been used on shahed style drones and other large UAV?

You don’t even know that, many of the current in-game fighters use numbers from the land of make believe including stuff like the Su-27 and MiG-29 even when real values are available.

Yeah, but you don’t need a 5th gen for those roles. China has J-16, J-15, and J-10 that have guns.

Yeah but funny stealth plane dogfights.

If it interests you, the J-35 (carrier variant) apparently has an internal cannon.

Mostly on helicopters with rotating turrets

Huh?