Does J-35 have same level of 360 degree EODAS that J-20 and F-35 has?
J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31 thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
Currently noone knows because J-35 always flew with a cover, some people even think J-35As won't have EOTS which may be true because IMO that close up picture from the TV show almost seems like the "cover" is fully flush with the airframe. Odd design choice if this turns out to be true.
He asked about "360 EODAS" which should be referring to the distributed aperture system that the F-35 has, which consists of six passive electro optic sensors that among other functions has been marketed as being able to allow pilots to "see through" the aircraft by having the HMD merge the EODAS images together.
You are thinking about the EOTS (which is a term I dislike for both J-20 and J-35), which is F-35s chin mounted sensor and laser designator system in a faceted housing. While it does have 360 degree coverage in the horizontal axis, I assume that his naming of EODAS refers to that different system rather than EOTS.
To answer the original question, @tamsen_ikard , it is unclear if the "360 degree" view of the F-35 fully works as advertised.
I've read varying things from pilots with experience on the F-35 in terms of how functional and viable it actually is, and it may be best thought of as a more capable 360 degree MAWS and EO tracking system than providing true continuous "see through the cockpit" capability.
What we do know is that both J-20 family and J-35/A family have six electro optic apertures around their airframe providing 360 degree coverage as well. The extent of their integration and function is a different matter, which we cannot speculate about.
It would also be useful if your questions can be more specific and less vague.
This is exactly what I was asking about actually. I have seen J-20 have the small apperture around its fuselage similar to the F-35. So, I assumed J-20 also has 360 degree electro-optical systems similar to EODAS in F-35. I have seen similar appertures in J-35 too. So, I assume it should also have the same functions.
But I read somewhere here that the EOTS just under the fuselage in J-35 is only a placeholder and opaque. So, that's why I was asking if the EODAS apertures are also a placeholder or if it does have the "cameras".
My impression of the EODAS was it provides 360 degree electro-optical sensors around the plane and does a combination with the radar and other sensors to create one single picture which is the "sensor fusion" capability.
You're asking two different questions in that case
1. Are the EODAS-like apertures on J-35/A have sensors fitted or not?
2. What capability does J-35/A's EODAS-like apertures have?
For 1., my answer is: we don't know, and also who cares. It doesn't really matter whether the J-35/A currently have sensors fitted on the EODAS-like apertures or not, or whether the chin EOIRST sensor has a sensor fitted or not (the opacity could reflect a cover installed), because we know they will have actual sensors installed in time, same as J-20.
For 2., we don't know. Sensor fusion is something that is not categorically defined, and even if you are more specific about what type of sensing capability you are talking about, it's not like that is something we can surmise from imagery, the only way to answer that question is to get credible rumours from the usual sources, or if the PLA felt generous and decided to shed some light on these capabilities in an official capacity.
Here is the factory seen on Baidu, though the photo is taken at an earlier date.
The whole "aviation city" is also even bigger than I thought when looking at the layout map. Here is the map on top of a satellite map:
This also supports Yankee's claim that the J-35 project is being forwarded with a huge investment.
The whole "aviation city" is also even bigger than I thought when looking at the layout map. Here is the map on top of a satellite map:
This also supports Yankee's claim that the J-35 project is being forwarded with a huge investment.
That would be 200 planes per year easily.
Most of those customers will show up when US demands.
Okay let's not ahead of ourselves here, that's a massive rate of production. J-20 has been in volume production for years and it's not even close to 200 a year and there is no indication it will get there any time soon if ever. J-35 has only recently started LRIP. 200 a year is at least a few years away even if PLAAF does intend on such a high rate of production, which I'm skeptical of. Remember the extra space could be for other things like more R&D, drones, preparing for J-XDS, etc.