China makes extremely good dedicated hardware DSPs. The only advantage that they do not definitively have yet are software DSPs where we still lead
Chengdu next gen combat aircraft (?J-36)
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Sure, and US freakout over Huawei going back to the late 2010s should tell you where China's capabilities are in that part of the tech stack.
EDIT: I'd also add that (speaking a bit from experience here) if your hardware is a full step better on the receiver side superior noise floor performance overpowers any digital side performance driver. That's the parameter which most easily yields significant gains in range and fidelity, sometimes even up to an order of magnitude.
Last edited:
antiterror13
Brigadier
you simply don't know that (".... DSPs where we still lead"), or another question, how do you know that?
Assuming the July 2026 aircraft is genuinely the first J-36 LRIP unit, the closest like-for-like comparison with the J-20 is:
That would put J-36 roughly 3.5 months, or about 16%, ahead of J-20 in the EMD-to-LRIP transition. One particularly interesting date is 1 August 2027, the PLA's centenary. It falls roughly 12 months after the assumed first LRIP flight, versus about 14 months from the J-20's first LRIP aircraft to its initial PLAAF delivery. That makes the centenary a plausible occasion for an official unveiling, ceremonial handover, or public military debut of the J-36.
It would not necessarily mean mature combat service. Applying the rest of the J-20 timeline still points to formal commissioning in early-to-mid 2028 and initial combat capability around 2029. Early J-36s could also enter service with interim engines, avionics or software and receive improved configurations later.
| Milestone | J-20 | J-36 |
|---|---|---|
| First EMD prototype | 1 Mar 2014 | 26 Dec 2024 |
| First LRIP aircraft | 16 Jan 2016 | Jul 2026 |
| EMD to LRIP | About 22.5 months | About 19 months |
| Initial military delivery / public debut | Mar-Jul 2017 | Potentially 1 Aug 2027 |
| Official commissioning | Sep 2017 | Projected early-mid 2028 |
| Combat-unit service | Feb 2018 | Projected late 2028 |
| Initial operational capability | 2018-19 | Projected late 2028-29 |
| Wider operational deployment | 2019-21 | Projected 2030-32 |
That would put J-36 roughly 3.5 months, or about 16%, ahead of J-20 in the EMD-to-LRIP transition. One particularly interesting date is 1 August 2027, the PLA's centenary. It falls roughly 12 months after the assumed first LRIP flight, versus about 14 months from the J-20's first LRIP aircraft to its initial PLAAF delivery. That makes the centenary a plausible occasion for an official unveiling, ceremonial handover, or public military debut of the J-36.
It would not necessarily mean mature combat service. Applying the rest of the J-20 timeline still points to formal commissioning in early-to-mid 2028 and initial combat capability around 2029. Early J-36s could also enter service with interim engines, avionics or software and receive improved configurations later.