lcloo
Captain
1. Test pilot, not front line combat duty pilot.I came across some people claiming that J-20's downward-looking detection range is less than 26 km.
Source here, timestamp 11:30
View attachment 139408
Briefly summary:
Caption: Under complex weather conditions, the target is affected by clutter interference. After circling the area several times, Zheng Xin still has not found the target.
Person 1: I can't see anything right now
Command: Currently, the target is 26 away.
Person 2: It might get better if flown forward a bit.
Person 1: It should be there, but can't see clearly.
So I know that the official media tends to mix and match these clips and it's not representative of what actually happened, but I'm wondering how one should read what's being presented here.
2. Mission was to test a certain missile against a certain target
3. target will appear only 1 to 2 seconds, indicating the target could be a stealth drone,
4. Target is an aerial drone, not a ground target, as shown in the video a hit and explosion in the air.
5. The command is a flight testing establisment, not a combar operation unit.
6. No mention of look down range of radar, 26 is the distance of target.
7. No mention of sensor type used to track the target, sensor could be radar or optical device.
Finally it is a CCTV video, they don't show anything useful. The key point of producing such video by CCTV is to show the 100% dedication the servicemen and women are to their jobs. This is a promotional video to inspire the public on the devotion of PLA to the nation.