To shed vortices over the wing.
J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VIII
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Sorry if this is a dumb take, but does it make sense to have J-20 TVC right now? It is incredibly agile as is. TVC if I recall increase stealth and agility, but increase weight and reduce engine output. Would it make sense to have TVC with current level of WS-15 performance?
TVC doesn't help supersonic maneuverability much either. Which is where most fighting will be.
There is some merit to both China and US not introducing TVC on J10/J16 and F16/F35 respectively, despite having the technology for it.
I think the only major benefit of having TVC in J20 will be intimidation factor and airshow performance. Also, it does benefit future developments to push the tech envelope as far as it can go.
While most likely China will introduce TVC on all J20 simply because the WS15 has very high power and can afford it, I wouldn't be too surprised if they chose to make just a few TVC J20 mostly for airshows/study, because the extra supersonic performance from lower weight could make a difference in real combat.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
The canards are not on the same plain as the main wings for aerodynamic reasons as having them in the same plain would remove much of the benefits of having canards to start with.
Also, RCS doesn’t work the way you seem to think. Even if you moved the canards to be on the same plain as the main wings, the RCS benefit would be negligible since the current canards are actually perfectly in line with the opposite main wing.
The main issue with canard RCS return is if the canards are parallel to the wings so radar waves bounce between them to increase return. This is not the case on the J-20.
Weight and thrust loss depends on the nozzle design and can be minimized. The extra control authority lets you access expanded flight envelopes otherwise off limits with traditional controls.
Incorrect. TVC is useful in high altitude and high speed regimes either because they can help you access maneuver envelopes that are lower drag or provide control authority in conditions where your control surfaces can lose authority.
