J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VI

[stannislas]

I think the last time this was mentioned was with something from Yankeesama. I would do a search with his name and some key terms, because there’s no way in heck I’m digging up years old posts with how busy my schedule has been...

It makes no sense to stick a gun into a strike version but not a dogfighter version. Using a stealth fighter to do strafing runs on ground forces would be a total waste of the platform, and for effective air to air gun fights you need to have great maneuverability. I’m not even sure you’d want to use an unstable design like the J-20 for any low altitude ground attacks. Remember they did a low altitude parade flight in the desert one or two years ago and a pilot mentioned just how hard it was to keep the plane still in those conditions. You’re not sharpshooting a tank at low altitude if those are your flight characteristics.

I honestly believe J-20 will be highly unlikely to take any ground attack role like F-15E or SU-30 does, certainly not a A-10 role.

Many j-20 pilots and other PLA related staffs have stated repeatedly that the major mission of J-20 is "to break through enemy's defense", for me that means, AEW/EW/tanker/bomber/SAM/PAWS/etc. has a higher priority in J-20's target list than ariel combat with other fighters. Maybe other 5th gen fighters like F-22/F-35/su-57 could be more important, but that it should not surpass other targets I listed above.

 

[latenlazy]

I honestly believe J-20 will be highly unlikely to take any ground attack role like F-15E or SU-30 does, certainly not a A-10 role.

Many j-20 pilots and other PLA related staffs have stated repeatedly that the major mission of J-20 is "to break through enemy's defense", for me that means, AEW/EW/tanker/bomber/SAM/PAWS/etc. has a higher priority in J-20's target list than ariel combat with other fighters. Maybe other 5th gen fighters like F-22/F-35/su-57 could be more important, but that it should not surpass other targets I listed above.

Enemy air space will be held not by AEW/EW/Tanker/Bombers etc. but by air superiority fighters.

 

[latenlazy]

Understandable, let’s just see whether those sources pan out later.

Guns for anti ground work have been proven to be useful, as long as air superiority is achieved.

US was experimenting with making a strike version of F-22 to replace their A-10. Both A-10 and Q-5 are outdated in today’s strike environment and have low survivability.

I’m not a pilot, but I don’t think being too maneuverable would necessarily hurt aiming at ground targets. The plane should be able to lock itself into a less sensitive control mode just before strafing to help the pilot line up the shot.

Guns are indeed very good for ground attacks. That does not mean every plane with a gun is good for attacking ground targets. If the J-20 could lock itself into a less sensitive control mode then they would have done so for the parades and we would not be hearing about how difficult it is to keep the plane steady during formation.

 

[Inst]

I honestly believe J-20 will be highly unlikely to take any ground attack role like F-15E or SU-30 does, certainly not a A-10 role.

Many j-20 pilots and other PLA related staffs have stated repeatedly that the major mission of J-20 is "to break through enemy's defense", for me that means, AEW/EW/tanker/bomber/SAM/PAWS/etc. has a higher priority in J-20's target list than ariel combat with other fighters. Maybe other 5th gen fighters like F-22/F-35/su-57 could be more important, but that it should not surpass other targets I listed above.

Enemy air defense can include enemy ground air-defense platforms. The US has done a lot of work in upgrading the capability of its Arleigh Burke destroyers, and the latest missiles present a real threat to opposing aircraft.

Still, we haven't seen serious development work on the J-20's anti-surface / ship capability, and the J-20's bay is too short to carry existing anti-ship missiles.

===

As for guns, we strictly know that the J-20 has a gun port, but nothing has been installed there yet. It could very well end up being dazzler lasers instead of a traditional gun.

 

[Tyler]

Enemy air defense can include enemy ground air-defense platforms. The US has done a lot of work in upgrading the capability of its Arleigh Burke destroyers, and the latest missiles present a real threat to opposing aircraft.

Still, we haven't seen serious development work on the J-20's anti-surface / ship capability, and the J-20's bay is too short to carry existing anti-ship missiles.

===

As for guns, we strictly know that the J-20 has a gun port, but nothing has been installed there yet. It could very well end up being dazzler lasers instead of a traditional gun.

Where is the gun port located?

 

[vesicles]

As for guns, we strictly know that the J-20 has a gun port, but nothing has been installed there yet. It could very well end up being dazzler lasers instead of a traditional gun.

how do you know nothing has been installed there? We’ve never seen the gun port being open...

 

[Inst]

Candidate one:

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Look on top of the canards.

 

[Inst]

how do you know nothing has been installed there? We’ve never seen the gun port being open...

Leaks / rumors. An aircraft autocannon weighs a non negliable amount, and if you're using it something has gone wrong. If the gun port is ever used, it's better off operating a dazzler or laser cannon than a gun.

Hell, we know the J-20 is a high-speed aircraft and aircraft have flown into their own ammo at high speeds before.

If we use the combat knife analogy, if the choice comes between a knife and a laser designator, the designator is more useful.

 

[vesicles]

Leaks / rumors. An aircraft autocannon weighs a non negliable amount, and if you're using it something has gone wrong. If the gun port is ever used, it's better off operating a dazzler or laser cannon than a gun.

Hell, we know the J-20 is a high-speed aircraft and aircraft have flown into their own ammo at high speeds before.

If we use the combat knife analogy, if the choice comes between a knife and a laser designator, the designator is more useful.

I’m not questioning the decision for having or not having a gun. I’m just wondering if we’ve ever seen an actual photo with the gun port open and showing the equipment inside...

 

[Inst]

Why should we? If the gun port is empty we'll never see is open. As I've said, WS-15 J-20 may get a gun, but it's better off equipping a dazzler or laser cannon instead.