J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VIII

[siegecrossbow]

Thank you! That was an excellent read.

Its actually quite astounding just how much the final product ended up matching the original theorycrafting. I'm sure there were many smaller revisions and compromises on the way, but overall it seemed they nailed down the fundamentals* and then smoothly (not to mention quickly!) materialised an accurate theory into a useful reality.

*The only point that stuck out was the Caret intakes. I'm guessing DSI hadn't been fully explored yet. I'm just trying to imagine a J-20 with Caret intakes haha, on a non-serious point I wonder if it would look better or worse aesthetically!

Anyway, I've got many rabbit holes to go down now. I'm going to get started on that reading list.

Not only caret intakes but also belly intakes. Canards are close coupled in the OG design for better vortex generation. But in the end they went for the stealthier design as requirements changed.

 

[latenlazy]

Not only caret intakes but also belly intakes. Canards are close coupled in the OG design for better vortex generation. But in the end they went for the stealthier design as requirements changed.

They also didn’t have the over body camber. That didn’t show up until the pre-production prototype. Suggests they basically went back to the wind tunnel after the 200x series.

 

[by78]

Slats and flaps deployed.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

How many J-20 has been produced so far? Whats the latest estimate? I read here somewhere there was a slowdown last year?

"At the time of writing in mid-2024, I cautiously estimate that the J-20 fleet size may approach 300 airframes. It must be noted that future J-20 production rates may change (either increase or decrease) as the program proceeds. PLA secrecy and the difficult nature of attaining consistent high-quality satellite imagery means any “concrete” estimate of the J-20 fleet size is likely to be meaningfully behind from facts on the ground at any given time, though may serve as a useful “minimum floor” estimate."

By Rick. So by now, maybe 350ish in fleet? Maybe 400ish produced?

Just as a rough estimate.