mmw radar is not really an issue for air combat. those wavelengths get absorbed by the atmosphere and radars that could fit inside missiles also lack power, so total range is dozen or so km against a plane with a large radar cross section. Radars in BVR missiles use longer wavelengths and generally achieve upward of 30 km reach against the average, non-stealthy target.
J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VI
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plawolf
Lieutenant General
The only missiles that use MMW radar targeting are anti tank missiles and maybe some CIWS, but even then only as one part of a mixed seeker, and the seekers are semi-active, relying on huge emitters mounted on helicopters/ships for target illumination.
MMW has poor range due to high energy loss to atmosphere, as Totoro already pointed out. If you used MMW radar on an AAM, that missile would need to get very close even against legacy fighters to get a lock.
Just look at how big the MMW radars are on Apache longbows and the FL3000N CIWS, and they are only good for a few km in range. So long range semi-active targeting is pretty much out for MMW.
If you go full active homing with MMW, the small size of missiles means your detection and lock on ranges are going to be further reduced. In addition, you will probably need most of your missile to be batteries to power your MMW active seeker.
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
J-20 tests vector thrust?
BY
After launching , the J-20 Chinese fighter program would have taken a further step in its development by launching vector thrust tests.
The information was revealed by a graphic designer based in Chengdu, where the latest spearhead of the Chinese Air Force is designed and manufactured. In (the equivalent of Twitter in China), the enthusiast who has long followed the flight tests of J-20 near the airfield Huangtianba (黄 田坝) posted a drawing on which one can see a J-20 with several calibration markers on the flac, and a Pitot tube on the front tip, which he quips and calls it "BMW version" (the BMW logo looks like a marker used in crash tests) but without giving further explanation.
Image: 飞舞 的 摩羯
Since, speculation is going well, some speak of a new embedded variant while others advance the hypothesis of a "shortened" version of the aircraft.
If none of these interpretations seem to correspond to reality, at least at present, we know at least that the plane is a prototype given the presence of the Pitot tube at the front and calibration markers on the fuselage, as one could observe on the first prototypes of J-20 and also other Chinese prototype planes.
A prototype of J-11A with camera calibration markers
The prototype 522 of the J-11A program that has been used as a test bench for the Chinese WS-10 engine
Calibration markers on prototype # 2002 of J-20, photographed in January 2013 when the device tested its side bunkers (Image: 飞 哥 CDer)
It is only after a week that the person ends up disclosing the "hidden face" of this rather unusual J-20. On , still on his account Weibo, the same J-20 is presented biased against a J-10B, showing the rear part of the aircraft with two distinct engines.
We read that the J-10B "speaks" on the J-20, saying that "Big brother, I tested the new hindquarters for you". This metaphor actually comes from the fact that the J-10B would have been used recently to test a new three-dimensional vector nozzle, a device to increase the maneuverability of the aircraft to the detriment, often, of the general thrust because of a greater structural mass.
This information that J-20 is currently testing a vector nozzle is also confirmed by at least two other local sources, and is consistent with data found in published research documents.
If we combine these elements together, we can then suggest that the Chinese manufacturer would be testing not only a new engine "Made in China" on the J-20, but also a way to further improve the subsonic maneuverability of his last fighter jet, knowing that according to the testimony of pilots and the chief engineer of the plane, the plane "excels" already in the trans- and supersonic domain and that its aerial combat performance BVR and WVR seems to be satisfied with the current state of affairs.
One of the prototypes of J-10B was used as a testbed of the new vector nozzle, or simply stealthed, of the WS-10 engine
BY
After launching , the J-20 Chinese fighter program would have taken a further step in its development by launching vector thrust tests.
The information was revealed by a graphic designer based in Chengdu, where the latest spearhead of the Chinese Air Force is designed and manufactured. In (the equivalent of Twitter in China), the enthusiast who has long followed the flight tests of J-20 near the airfield Huangtianba (黄 田坝) posted a drawing on which one can see a J-20 with several calibration markers on the flac, and a Pitot tube on the front tip, which he quips and calls it "BMW version" (the BMW logo looks like a marker used in crash tests) but without giving further explanation.
Image: 飞舞 的 摩羯
Since, speculation is going well, some speak of a new embedded variant while others advance the hypothesis of a "shortened" version of the aircraft.
If none of these interpretations seem to correspond to reality, at least at present, we know at least that the plane is a prototype given the presence of the Pitot tube at the front and calibration markers on the fuselage, as one could observe on the first prototypes of J-20 and also other Chinese prototype planes.
A prototype of J-11A with camera calibration markers
The prototype 522 of the J-11A program that has been used as a test bench for the Chinese WS-10 engine
Calibration markers on prototype # 2002 of J-20, photographed in January 2013 when the device tested its side bunkers (Image: 飞 哥 CDer)
It is only after a week that the person ends up disclosing the "hidden face" of this rather unusual J-20. On , still on his account Weibo, the same J-20 is presented biased against a J-10B, showing the rear part of the aircraft with two distinct engines.
We read that the J-10B "speaks" on the J-20, saying that "Big brother, I tested the new hindquarters for you". This metaphor actually comes from the fact that the J-10B would have been used recently to test a new three-dimensional vector nozzle, a device to increase the maneuverability of the aircraft to the detriment, often, of the general thrust because of a greater structural mass.
This information that J-20 is currently testing a vector nozzle is also confirmed by at least two other local sources, and is consistent with data found in published research documents.
If we combine these elements together, we can then suggest that the Chinese manufacturer would be testing not only a new engine "Made in China" on the J-20, but also a way to further improve the subsonic maneuverability of his last fighter jet, knowing that according to the testimony of pilots and the chief engineer of the plane, the plane "excels" already in the trans- and supersonic domain and that its aerial combat performance BVR and WVR seems to be satisfied with the current state of affairs.
One of the prototypes of J-10B was used as a testbed of the new vector nozzle, or simply stealthed, of the WS-10 engine
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
(cont)
One of the prototypes of J-10B was used as a testbed of the new vector nozzle, or simply stealthed, of the WS-10 engine
The two WS-10 engines on prototype # 2021 of the J-20 program
Of course, this logic of reasoning is based on the assumption that the new jerky nozzle seen on the J-10B is actually a vector nozzle, and not a simple nozzle with low observability. But if it is simply a J-20 that is evaluating a new stealthy nozzle without TVC, why not do it on the prototype that is already equipped with two Chinese engines?
To be continued.
Henri K.
One of the prototypes of J-10B was used as a testbed of the new vector nozzle, or simply stealthed, of the WS-10 engine
The two WS-10 engines on prototype # 2021 of the J-20 program
Of course, this logic of reasoning is based on the assumption that the new jerky nozzle seen on the J-10B is actually a vector nozzle, and not a simple nozzle with low observability. But if it is simply a J-20 that is evaluating a new stealthy nozzle without TVC, why not do it on the prototype that is already equipped with two Chinese engines?
To be continued.
Henri K.
Old photo.
nah, prolly not, but lots of Meta Material on that radome, intakes and leading and trailing edges,,, oh, and I love primer birds!
I recall it was a WS-10 (the one with all the problems).
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