J-15 carrier fighter thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Too faint to be accurately identified on low resolution GE satellite pictures.
The JBDs might be more useful but the skid marks will hardly be distinctive enough for our purposes, at the resolution we have to work with.
If a higher quality dedicated satellite can investigate it, the faint skid marks might be more obvious, but that also depends on how well they contrast vs the tarmac. So skid marks probably won't be a very viable means for positive confirmation, especially the kind we want.
Ok, I see which marks you meant. But I really can't think of the marks behind the red "wheel blockers" being caused by launching, because aircraft does not gain any high speed there.
The marks on the launching path further down should be related to launching as you said. But I would be inclined to think that they are more unique to ski-jump type of launch rather than to catapult launch because the wheels will get a hard press/scratch when they hit the curve of the ramp, that doesn't happen in catapult launch. So it is hard to use that as a marker to verify the usage of catapult launching test site.
In essence, there is no fundamental difference in the two. The skid marks are due to particles being scratched off the wheels by friction force, the force is due to acceleration of the wheels rotation when launching and landing. In landing the wheels' rims will be accelerated from 0 to 300?km/s linear, while in launching that is much gradually meaning slower acceleration, less friction, less mark. I think the skid mark due to catapult launching would be so weak to be recorded by a satellite camera. I could not find skid marks from Lakehurst site, just by taking a quick look.
Chinese media predicts because China ready field catapult fighters in carriers, US would be willing to give carrier catapult tech along with license production of F16, F18 to India.
Well, we have never ever seen US this generous in transferring tech to another country.Ever.
Breaking all precedences.
But if it does, and looks like it would, then that reflects how lanxious , insecure the mindset US feels and willing to do whatever to have balance to counter China.
India is really Lucky to first have Britian watch out its interest(that's how it absorbed tawang, and Anderman islands), and now US give him wahtever.
Yet, it's still so much behind China in all aspects.
Imagine if China has a big Brother to watch him from get go.
Well, we have never ever seen US this generous in transferring tech to another country.Ever.
Breaking all precedences.
But if it does, and looks like it would, then that reflects how lanxious , insecure the mindset US feels and willing to do whatever to have balance to counter China.
India is really Lucky to first have Britian watch out its interest(that's how it absorbed tawang, and Anderman islands), and now US give him wahtever.
Yet, it's still so much behind China in all aspects.
Imagine if China has a big Brother to watch him from get go.
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Intrepid
Major
I think, the cause of the skid marks behind the red wheel blockers is the hot jet blast deflector. Example on a US-carrier at .
Enlarged to show what I mean:
soot from burnt fuel from the jet engines.
that photo was from earlier this year, not 2014.
The 2014 photo was only a mock up that looked like it might have been showing a launch bar on the front landing gear... but tbh I was always not so sure about whether it was meant to be a launch bar, or if it was just something to tow the mock up around with.
I am pretty sure we saw some photos in 2014...perhaps it was a mock-up, but I thought for sure there was an actual initial prototype.
Nah, 2014 was only the supposed mock up, and even then I'm not sure if it was actually a mock up of a catapult compatible J-15 or if the launch bar was merely a tow bar.
We only got pictures of the initial prototype earlier this year, and even then it was only a single picture of the nosegear. The first nosegear picture was in early July this year.
The latest pictures of J-15A are the first full size pictures of the entire aircraft we've had.
Check this link out from Janes...it is November 2014.
Janes talks specifically about the design, particularly the forward portion, as being clear evidence that the PLAN was redesigning the J-15 for carrier CATOBAR operations.
...and this one from a Hollilla. Oct 2014: