Cool it with the red highlights, its a mod exclusive - might confuse people.
Chengdu next gen combat aircraft (?J-36) thread
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
I have been rereading articles surrounding the 2020 USAF NGAD prototype/demonstrator reveal. It turns out the same USAF official who claimed that an NGAD prototype/demonstrator flew in 2020 was the guy who championed the now canceled “digital century series.”
In fact, with the information we now have about the NGAD program delays and rework, it seem very likely that the 2020 prototype was a one-off commission to quickly build something that looks good and flys to validate the “digital design process” concept that the USAF want to sell to Congress.
Some examples of the USAF digital design initative includes
In fact, I suspect the technology that the 2020 demonstrator was demonstrating was “digital engineering/rapid prototyping” instead of any groundbreaking aerodynamics/signature reduction/sensors/power management etc. that we associate with 6th gen. It would explain why LM and Boeing were still in the design phase and why the project could be fundamentally reworked.
If this is the case, it would mean China is even more ahead with the J-36 and SHENGAD.
In fact, with the information we now have about the NGAD program delays and rework, it seem very likely that the 2020 prototype was a one-off commission to quickly build something that looks good and flys to validate the “digital design process” concept that the USAF want to sell to Congress.
Some examples of the USAF digital design initative includes
In fact, I suspect the technology that the 2020 demonstrator was demonstrating was “digital engineering/rapid prototyping” instead of any groundbreaking aerodynamics/signature reduction/sensors/power management etc. that we associate with 6th gen. It would explain why LM and Boeing were still in the design phase and why the project could be fundamentally reworked.
If this is the case, it would mean China is even more ahead with the J-36 and SHENGAD.
I have considered that for a few years as well, especially as some people of note in the industry or the service have alluded that Roper's revelation was not as impressive as he made it out to be.
At any rate, I think we can't rule out the possibility that the NGAD demonstrator flown might have also still incorporated new aerodynamic or signature reduction technologies, and it is also possible it could have been a full scale airframe too.
But I think at this stage the chances of it being a "representative prototype" of an "intended for production design" seems somewhat on the low side, compared to J-36 (and possibly SAC's jet as well).
In terms of solid, concrete evidence, technically both J-36, SAC's jet, and the NGAD demonstrators flown are all "unknown" in terms of how "representative" they are of being for an intended design... but the practical likelihoods are not in the NGAD's favour at this stage.
Well that's the point. 5th gen fighters have no potential to arm future direct energy weapons. Airframes are not large enough, also energy generation and management systems are not good enough. Then comes 6th gen.
Do we know what kind of VCE they are working on? the VCE of the YF-120 kind is very very different to the much more complex 3 stream design for XA100 and NGAP. NGAP will be even more advanced than that bringing variable tech to the turbine core. I hope its the latter, if so that will be the most monumental tech leap China will ever make wow..
At that time, many observers believed that this was a "digital test flight". It was hard to imagine that now the US Air Force changed the original NGAD heavy aircraft to NGAD light aircraft + more CCA design, saying that "each proposal is impressive but not good enough", after the so-called "multiple demonstrator test flight". Isn't this equivalent to wasting most of the demonstrator? In any case, this reveals that the project is in trouble, military-industrial complex cannot produce the performance that the US Air Force needs, or even the US Air Force does not know what it needs
Last edited:
whatis NGAP
Cheeky little touch putting Oahu in the bottom right.
No idea where the missiles are pointed in this case. Easter Island?