The lambda wing has radar in its nose (see earlier pictures where there is a radiation sign) whilst the DSI intake one has the chin EOTS thing but no radiation sign....
Chinese UCAV/CCA/flying wing drones (ISR, A2A, A2G) thread
- Thread starter VESSEL
- Start date
They both have a radome if you look closely
We might be looking at the possible wing folding mechanism for Naval J-XDS.
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Am basing on the international sign for radiation (right most circle). The DSI one appears to have provisions for all forms of DAS which the lambda wing doesn't (middle circle)....
Might they be sister planes for different objectives, DSI for sensing battlefield and ground strike and the lambda for air strike?
I can't be sure though; this drone is very odd. It has a wing folding mechanism yet have a PLAAF serial number in the Western Theatre far away from open seas, landing gear does not reflect carrier ops either although technically you don't need a dual wheel front gear for catapult as the Super Etendard with a skinny single wheeled front landing gear is actually capable of being catapulted via a rod connected to the main gears but it will be a first in decades if this drone is actually designed to be catapulted that way.
As I've written multiple times, "in service" can be met by the minimum threshold of "IOT&E" (Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation) which is done by the service itself.
I think it is a misrepresentation and almost a strawman argument to say "they aren't in FOC" -- because no one is suggesting all of the equipment shown in the parade is in FOC.
However, IOT&E as a minimum threshold is very much reasonable and defensible.
At this point we should be able to say "in service" without having qualify it by saying "but they're not FOC" because everyone should already understand that the threshold is IOT&E.
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Also in terms of details of the aircraft, this image (slightly different to the one I posted on the last page), imo shows the details of the rivets and arrays better.
I think a simpler explanation may be that those aren't wingfold lines, and are instead just panel lines on the wings instead.
With the older images the surface looks too smooth like it's a fibreglass formed mockup but with new higher resolution images the GJ-11/GJ-21 does appear to have the hallmarks of being the actual aircraft displayed.
Zooming in you can actually see the panels and rivets.
I always wonder if the real full production aircraft will have similar coating and tapes like the F-35 because all shown stealth aircraft at airshows, parades etc have exposed panel seams and what seems like minimal coating.
AMEN! And once again, I fundamentally agree with you. Anyone with common sense knows that we can't talk about FOC for some time to come. Unfortunately, however—depending on social media, and perhaps I hang out in the wrong places too often—not everyone has this level of insight and only sees things in black and white!