J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VIII

Deino

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It is. 9th got it again. Both times they get to be guinea pigs for variant with non-target engine…

Just for the record ... so far we haven't seen any proof for the 9th AB getting A-models or am I wrong? All so far seen ones are from the 172nd AB FTTB!
 

tphuang

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Generations are all well and good, but how much of an actual detection ability difference does it translate into, especially against small LO targets like cruise missiles?

Pardon in case I missed this, but is there some source for this available?
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I'm going to post the photo here in case this article gets deleted
Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 9.07.12 AM.png
在国防领域,碳化硅的突破直接关乎国家安全,团队研发的高纯半绝缘碳化硅成功应用于相控阵雷达核心器件,使探测距离提升3倍,让中国雷达实现“先敌发现、先敌制胜”,从歼-20的机载系统到尖端武器装备,这片“中国芯”承载着国家安全命脉,它让中国雷达看得更远、导弹打得更准、激光武器威力更强,成为国防科技不可或缺的“硬核盾牌”

Direct google translates
In the field of national defense, breakthroughs in silicon carbide are directly related to national security. The high-purity semi-insulating silicon carbide developed by the team has been successfully applied to the core components of phased array radars, increasing the detection distance by three times, allowing Chinese radars to "discover the enemy first and defeat the enemy first." From the J-20's airborne systems to cutting-edge weapons and equipment, this "Chinese core" carries the lifeline of national security. It allows Chinese radars to see farther, missiles to hit more accurately, and laser weapons to be more powerful, becoming an indispensable "hard-core shield" for national defense science and technology.

So, that I assume is only used on the latest J-20 variant like J-20A and J-20S since increasing range that much requires significant increase in power generation which is only possible with redesigned interior.

The next step is GaN-on-Diamond, which we also got a report recently.
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I'm going to put a photo of the relevant part in case they delete this entry (since CETC kept deleting their articles)
Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 9.05.26 AM.png
该技术采用自研设备配套晶体生长工艺,提升金刚石热导率突破2400W/(m·K),协同实现了金刚石高品质及高速率两个关键要素,降低成本,有助于产业化应用。突破了金刚石三维集成封装的通孔加工宏量制备与沉铜电连接技术瓶颈,界面连接强度提高5倍以上,微波功率器件电流密度提升10%以上。
该技术可广泛应用于金刚石材料生长制备,用于下一代半导体衬底研发、半导体散热、高能激光/微波窗口等领域。相关研究成果成功应用于中国电科集团GaN器件、华为相关散热应用等。
which translates to
This technology uses self-developed equipment to support the crystal growth process, which improves the thermal conductivity of diamond to over 2400W/(m·K), and synergistically achieves the two key elements of high quality and high speed of diamond, reduces costs, and is conducive to industrial application. It breaks through the bottleneck of through-hole processing macro-preparation and copper-plated electrical connection technology for diamond three-dimensional integrated packaging, improves the interface connection strength by more than 5 times, and increases the current density of microwave power devices by more than 10%.
Now on the relevant part
This technology can be widely used in the growth and preparation of diamond materials, and in the fields of next-generation semiconductor substrate research and development, semiconductor heat dissipation, high-energy laser/microwave windows, etc. The relevant research results have been successfully applied to GaN devices of China Electronics Technology Group and related heat dissipation applications of Huawei.
So, CETC is already using GaN-on-Diamond tech. Although this is likely not on any fighter jet yet.
 

jnd85

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this gives off CG vibes to me. the vignetting, bokeh and contrast all make it seem like it's not a photograph.
That's post editing. Whoever took it was a pro, likely press corps, and doing some touch up work is almost routine. Very pretty picture though. If I were the photographer I would put that into a calendar or submit it for some prize.
 

tphuang

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Screenshot 2025-07-16 at 9.53.37 AM.png
Nice little snippet by one the "big shrimps" on PLA on J-20S. Nothing groundbreaking here, but again, twin seat fighter jet is a big deal for PLAAF in terms of multi-role combat. I find it interesting he also emphasized ground attack and ant-shipping here since that's not something I really thought about all that much for J-20S before. I was more focused on MUMT, EW & C2 that he talking about after that.
 

mack8

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Basically J-20S being more or less a 5th gen J-16 in terms of overall role? Makes sense, even more so when considering the generational evolution J-16, J-20S, J-36.
 

Tomboy

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Basically J-20S being more or less a 5th gen J-16 in terms of overall role? Makes sense, even more so when considering the generational evolution J-16, J-20S, J-36.
J-16 is a strike aircraft, while J-20S is a air superiority fighter. Very different roles.
 

siegecrossbow

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J-16 is a strike aircraft, while J-20S is a air superiority fighter. Very different roles.

J-20S can also control CCA — arguably higher on the list of things it can do than air to surface. That said it is a waste to produce fighter with limited air to ground/surface capabilities. After achieving air dominance you will always need to “mop up”.
 

tamsen_ikard

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J-20S can also control CCA — arguably higher on the list of things it can do than air to surface. That said it is a waste to produce fighter with limited air to ground/surface capabilities. After achieving air dominance you will always need to “mop up”.
All air superiority fighters transition to multi-role after a few years of production as the next gen air superiority fighter comes along.

So, it was expected J-20 will also transition to more multirole fighter to keep relevance as 6th gen comes online.

But there is a flaw or drawback in J-20 design though that makes it a less useful as a multi-role.

Its not that big compared to J-16 and other Flankers. When I look at size comparisons, J-20 is slightly smaller length than a flanker. Keep in mind J-20 is much bigger on length than width, so its width far smaller than a flanker. So, overall area, volume and thus weapons capacity is probably less than a strike optimized flanker.

A lot of people used to say how big J-20 is, But its actually on the smaller side compared to a flanker.
 
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