H-20 bomber (with H-X, JH-XX)

SinoSoldier said:

Your guess is as good as mine, in which case I doubt an accurate translation would have implications beyond what is presented at face value.

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That's where you're wrong.

Context is crucial in almost all situations, especially when it comes to the murky waters that is PLA-watching. Do everyone a favour and start providing context whenever you post. If you post a rumour, link the source. If you post an image of text, link the source and make at least some attempt of a translation. Basically, be the node, not the terminal; do not be the end stop of our information path, simply be a chain-link that connects us to the original source and we'll judge for ourselves everything else.

SinoSoldier said:

Don't know if the OP is a "big shrimp or not", but according to third-party translations provided earlier, it seems as if the H-XX is undergoing some sort of test and that OPSEC won't likely be loosened until they've ironed most of the potential issues out.

Your guess is as good as mine, in which case I doubt an accurate translation would have implications beyond what is presented at face value.

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Pardon, if I missed something but some guys at certain forums are again jumping on the bandwagon already:

I know that these rumours are floating around since a few hours and even if some say that thing might indeed has done its maiden flight I don't think. A B-2-like flying wing taking off at Xi'an MUST have been noticed by some in the public.

Or am I wrong??

Deino

SinoSoldier said:

Don't know if the OP is a "big shrimp or not", but according to third-party translations provided earlier, it seems as if the H-XX is undergoing some sort of test and that OPSEC won't likely be loosened until they've ironed most of the potential issues out.

Your guess is as good as mine, in which case I doubt an accurate translation would have implications beyond what is presented at face value.

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This is exactly how things get misinterpreted.

Level with me here:
-Are you able to read or understand the literal sentences that the post had?
-Do you know what kind of context this text post is talking within or in response to?


If you yourself aren't able to even partly interpret the sentence and if you do not know what kind of context the post is being made within, then I would argue it is rather confusing to post something like that without a clear statement that you yourself do not know either what the post is saying, and/or what the post is in context to.

AT the very least, you surely must agree a mere "" is wholly insufficient.

jobjed said:

That's where you're wrong.

Context is crucial in almost all situations, especially when it comes to the murky waters that is PLA-watching. Do everyone a favour and start providing context whenever you post. If you post a rumour, link the source. If you post an image of text, link the source and make at least some attempt of a translation. Basically, be the node, not the terminal; do not be the end stop of our information path, simply be a chain-link that connects us to the original source and we'll judge for ourselves everything else.

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+1

Also, I want to say that even if a source, link or translation cannot be attained or attempted, at least provide a statement about where the picture/text/etc was spotted from, and state how much is known about the picture/text like the context, the source, and/or state what would like to be known or found out and if one would like a translation if one cannot do it themselves.

Those are all reasonable paths to take.


But a smiley just doesn't cut it.

SinoSoldier said:

Don't know if the OP is a "big shrimp or not", but according to third-party translations provided earlier, it seems as if the H-XX is undergoing some sort of test and that OPSEC won't likely be loosened until they've ironed most of the potential issues out.

Your guess is as good as mine, in which case I doubt an accurate translation would have implications beyond what is presented at face value.

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See, that's the kind of unhelpful sharing that tends to create problems and misinformation...without context how do we even know what you just shared isn't just wayward speculation by someone who doesn't actually know anything?

Let me give this another crack... But first some disclaimers: the text to me are unclear in some parts because it's colloquial, and the fact it starts out with a rhetorical question doesn't help. Also it seemed to be missing some crucial punctuation marks and conjunctions, which added to my confusion. I will add what I believe to be missing or implied in parentheses.

So here it goes, begin translation:
Countless test flights have already been carried out, yet we are still waiting for the first (official/public) flight. What is there to be afraid of? Perhaps a fear of embarrassment if the first public flight fails? The first official flight will not be announced to the public until everything is completely ironed out and is guaranteed to succeed. (Meanwhile), if the plane is spotted by netizens, (the military) will deny its existence by saying the witness has misidentified the plane and didn't see what he/she claims to have seen, (or) profess ignorance by pretending to not have heard anything about the plane being spotted, (or) state that there is no official information at this time and has no comment. Attached is a fake photo (to give you a clue on what kind of plane I'm talking about); I know it's a fake photo, so no need for you guys to point that out in the comment section.
End translation.

To summarize:
1) The official first flight of the stealth bomber will not be announced to the public until the PLAAF is certain that it will go smoothly. To that end, numerous unofficial test flights have already taken place and more will be carried out.
2) Should the bomber be spotted prematurely, the military will deny, obfuscate, or clam up.
3) The author never once explicitly stated what kind of plane he was talking about. Instead, he gave an unmistakable clue by posting a photo of the B-2 stealth bomber.
End summary.

Please correct any mistakes you see in my translation and interpretation and point out anything I have missed. It wouldn't surprise me if I have made serious errors in translation, so any correction is highly welcome.

Lastly, I have questions:
1) How reliable is the author? Does he have a track record of reliability and accuracy? What's his/her connection, if any, to the Chinese military and/or the military aviation industry?
2) Where was this text posted? Is there a link to the original text? Is there any follow-ups to the text? Did the author engage in a subsequent question-and-answer session in the comments section?
3) Has the author's post been picked up and commented upon by known 'big shrimps'? If so, what do these 'big shrimps' have to say about it? Did they corroborate it, deny it, add to it?
End questions.

by78 said:

...
End translation.

To summarize:
1) The official first flight of the stealth bomber will not be announced to the public until the PLAAF is certain that it will go smoothly. To that end, numerous unofficial test flights have already taken place and more will be carried out.
2) Should the bomber be spotted prematurely, the military will deny, obfuscate, or clam up.
3) The author never once explicitly stated what kind of plane he was talking about. Instead, he gave an unmistakable clue by posting a photo of the B-2 stealth bomber.

....

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Thanks a lot but again I cannot believe that a B-2-like flying wing taking off at Xi'an went by un-noticed in the public.

Deino said:

Thanks a lot but again I cannot believe that a B-2-like flying wing taking off at Xi'an went by un-noticed in the public.

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Agreed. Although the Xi'an compound and test field are located far from the city, it's still surrounded by many villages. With the ubiquity of cameras and video recording devices, these reputed test flights, if conducted in Xi'an, would certainly have been spotted.

Didn't the F-117s test flights take place at night so no one could see its existence?

AssassinsMace said:

Didn't the F-117s test flights take place at night so no one could see its existence?

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Yes for the F-117 so that Soviet spy satellites won't get a sneak-peek especially when it was out of the hanger and on the runway.

Not sure what the procedure was for the B-2 though.