Chengdu next gen combat aircraft (?J-36) thread

[dasCKD]

Out of interest, how much time do we expect to pass before the J-36 emerges again?

 

[valysre]

Out of interest, how much time do we expect to pass before the J-36 emerges again?

I would suggest 3 months, give or take a month. But these things are really measured on the timespan of a few years.

 

[charles18]

I don't think that will be the case either. There will always be scenarios of two 5th or 6th or 7th Gen stealth aircraft without support face off each other in a fluke case. In a case that that the section range will be short so dog fighting with short or medium range missiles becomes possible. Maneuverability and speed will be important. It is just the risk or likelihood is going to be much lower than spamming long range missiles.

Okay fair enough.
For example I can imagine a scenario, a 6th gen fighter flying over a crowded terrain full of forests and hills. A more maneuverable 5th gen enemy fighter could be "hiding behind a bush" (figuratively speaking) and then suddenly swoop in unsuspectingly to go in for the kill.
However if we imagine a war in the Pacific, there's going to be nothing but water 360 degrees around you as far as radar sensors can detect. Imagine a circle with a 400km radius. There's no chance an enemy fighter can simply appear out of nowhere. How's that even possible?

In such case, aerial combat becomes a pissing contest to see who has (Longer range A2A missiles + counter measures) and very little to do with dog fighting ability. A future aerial confrontation between the USA and China is probably going to take place over the water, instead of land.
You may be right, "dog fighting" is not going to completely go away unless of course "point defense lasers" get invented like what someone else here mentioned. However the trend is clear, speed and maneuverability is being de-emphasized.

 

[TK3600]

Have we seen this picture before?
It's from

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. Right now, Im not sure where the article in the picture comes from, but it should be from an internal aviation journal or report. It mentions that CAC proposed the J-36 design concept as early as 2009. Then, some research institute, possibly Xi'an Aircraft Corporation, took this design between 2009 and 2013, scaled it up and made changes to turn it into a six-engine tailless stealth bomber. They did wind tunnel tests and simulations with it.
The report suggests that XAC confirmed that the design data from Chengdu's 2009 proposal is genuine and reliable. The aircraft features three improved WS-15 engines on each side, delivering nearly 100 tons of thrust. With an empty weight of 90 tons, it can carry 140 tons of fuel and 25 tons of armaments. It is capable of supercruising at 1.8 Mach for a range of approximately 11,000 to 9,400 kilometers. When flying at subsonic speeds, its range increases to about 13,500 to 11,800 kilometers.

View attachment 143598
The note at the bottom of the image translates to: This is a next-generation fighter concept from our brother institute's pre-research. The data comes from a concept proposed at the 2009 Beijing seminar on the development of new fighter technologies. Even though it's a 3-year-old design, we've spent the past 2 years adapting it for a bomber configuration and have tested it in wind tunnels and simulations. The data is genuine and reliable.

Maybe we can get 5 engine set up. 2 top 3 bottom. The tech did advance after 15 years.

 

[latenlazy]

Okay fair enough.
For example I can imagine a scenario, a 6th gen fighter flying over a crowded terrain full of forests and hills. A more maneuverable 5th gen enemy fighter could be "hiding behind a bush" (figuratively speaking) and then suddenly swoop in unsuspectingly to go in for the kill.
However if we imagine a war in the Pacific, there's going to be nothing but water 360 degrees around you as far as radar sensors can detect. Imagine a circle with a 400km radius. There's no chance an enemy fighter can simply appear out of nowhere. How's that even possible?

In such case, aerial combat becomes a pissing contest to see who has (Longer range A2A missiles + counter measures) and very little to do with dog fighting ability. A future aerial confrontation between the USA and China is probably going to take place over the water, instead of land.
You may be right, "dog fighting" is not going to completely go away unless of course "point defense lasers" get invented like what someone else here mentioned. However the trend is clear, speed and maneuverability is being de-emphasized.

Ummm even over land why would they ever fly that low. They have absolute advantage flying high with long sensor rangers and long range missiles.