J-20 5th Gen Fighter Thread VIII

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dingyibvs

Senior Member
plawolf said:
Flying boom is really only a benefit for refuelling large, less manoeuvrable aircraft like AWACS, MPA, transports and bombers etc. For fighter aircraft, there is no material improvement. What pumping speed benefits of a boom are more than offset by the ability to refuel multiple fighters at the same time.

As China’s large aircraft fleet increases, there may be a justification to add a boom to tankers so they can also refuel those aircraft faster and more effectively. But that would be adding a new refuelling system as opposed to the wholesale replacement of the existing one.

As drones proliferate, the drogue system may actually become even more dominant due to the increased number of aircraft that needs refuelling, so being able to refuel multiple aircraft at the same time will become a more important capability.

Additionally, with the proliferation of stealth and drones and super long range missiles (both air and ground launched), the viability of large traditional tankers might become increasingly questionable. Or at a minimum they will be pushed further and further away from the line of contact to avoid getting snipped. The obvious solution is already being field tested in stealth drone tankers. Such drone tankers will only be drogue systems.
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There's really nothing that prevents a tanker from having multiple booms though. In fact, with its rigidity it can be made to fan out in different directions and potentially refuel even more aircrafts at the same time. The boom operators would need to be automated, but I think it's doable with even current day technology.
 
Deino

Deino

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Dylan Nguyen said:
To me, it looks like CB0257. CB8XXX wouldn't exist as the eighth batch would be CB08XX.
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You are correct ... I was too much focused on the idea, it should be an aircraft from the same or roughly same batch if both are from the 19th AB. So it is indeed a Batch 02 aircraft and overall the 57th aircraft!

But now it's getting interesting, was this aircraft no, CB0257 indeed seen at Changchun this year or is this an old image mixed into the recent ones? The point is, CB0257 was seen so far within the 1st AB as no. 61221 and that would mean it has been transferred to the 19th AB!!

In summary, - at least for me - the most important question is:

Is this indeed from the recent Changchun Air Show 2025 and shows indeed a J-20 now from the 19th AB or was this particular image in fact taken in July 2023 and shows a J-20 still within the 1st AB?

J-20 CB0257 new.jpgJ-20 CB0257 - 拓跋尊.jpgJ-20 61221 CB0257 maybe - 1. Brig - 一罐橘子酱WHALE xs.jpg
 
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Blitzo

Blitzo

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by78 said:
Self-explanatory.

54801496884_31a887b005_k.jpg
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Ah yes, the much vaunted twin seater J-20S

(Joke of course, but it's nice how well it fits)
 
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