J-20... The New Generation Fighter III

Engineer said:

Same here. Looks like many disagree with his ridiculous definition of Cobra maneuver which got him banned from Defence Talk as well. lol!

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I think I was somewhat intrigued with his "I have more articles that use real math and computations!". I now know what the math and science version of bible hacks look like...

Back on topic

It's entirely possible that with the innovation gains from the J-20s airframe CAC is being ambitious and expanding the types of roles the J-20 can adopt. With that in mind the J-20 might be optimized for both a fighter and (tactical) striker role without detriment to either (resolving the contradictions of trying to do both in a way). I must throw in the caveat that this is only speculating a possibility. (I can already see fanboys running away with that statement to start hyper-nationalistic flame wars).

latenlazy said:

It's entirely possible that with the innovation gains from the J-20s airframe CAC is being ambitious and expanding the types of roles the J-20 can adopt. With that in mind the J-20 might be optimized for both a fighter and (tactical) striker role without detriment to either (resolving the contradictions of trying to do both in a way). I must throw in the caveat that this is only speculating a possibility. (I can already see fanboys running away with that statement to start hyper-nationalistic flame wars).

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They need to do some major work on the weapons bay if they want to modify it into a striker. All I've got to say.

siegecrossbow said:

The moral of the story is never do the opposite of what a mod tells you... Mods are like cops. They are authorized to shoot if you don't comply.

Back on topic.

Although I think Sweetman, like most other Western analysts, underestimated the manoeuvrability of the J-20 I still agree with some of his analysis about the J-20's role. I am inclined to think that the ability to target high value none-replaceable assets like enemy AWAC will be a pretty big priority (at the same level as air to air combat against enemy fighters). What do you guys think of this?

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I've held the opinion that j-20 is basically an f-22 with longer legs for the last few months, and hunting down enemy force multipliers past the opfor's "lines" at long range would be a logical role for it to undertake in addition to general air dominance.
Wasnt there a Tom Clancy book (debt of honour? The one where china and japan team up to screw america rofl >_>) in which an f-22 was assigned to hunt down jasdf aew&c? It's fictional but I imagine a small flights or pairs of j-20s (or any other heavy high performance stealth fighter) could perform similar roles.

siegecrossbow said:

They need to do some major work on the weapons bay if they want to modify it into a striker. All I've got to say.

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I inserted "tactical" for a reason (taking down specific and critical targets that find safety in range). The volume limitations would prevent it from being a good general strike platform, and we already know there's another competition going on for that (though I wonder why they don't just modify the J-20). I guess the broader point I was getting at was the same as yours and Bltzo's, which is that they're capitalizing off the longer legs such an air frame would allow for.

latenlazy said:

I wonder why they don't just modify the J-20.

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You would end up with a plane that's good in neither role. If Chengdu is smart, they would make the J-20 stick with air superiority and air superiority only. It would maximize the plane's only capability, lessen design challenges, and reduce the overall cost.

Bltizo said:

I've held the opinion that j-20 is basically an f-22 with longer legs for the last few months, and hunting down enemy force multipliers past the opfor's "lines" at long range would be a logical role for it to undertake in addition to general air dominance.
Wasnt there a Tom Clancy book (debt of honour? The one where china and japan team up to screw america rofl >_>) in which an f-22 was assigned to hunt down jasdf aew&c? It's fictional but I imagine a small flights or pairs of j-20s (or any other heavy high performance stealth fighter) could perform similar roles.

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Makes sense for a Taiwan Strait or South China Sea scenario. Supercruise and supersonic maneuverability, in this case, should be emphasized.

Engineer said:

You would end up with a plane that's good in neither role. If Chengdu is smart, they would make the J-20 stick with air superiority and air superiority only. It would maximize the plane's only capability, lessen design challenges, and reduce the overall cost.

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I meant create a strike platform based on a modified J-20 air frame like the FB-22? There'd probably have to be significant changes which might not carry out too well of course, like the deletion of the canards for a bigger delta wing. I suppose the whole idea is more useful for cheapening R&D and production costs from parts sharing more than anything else though.

latenlazy said:

I meant create a modified J-20 air frame for strike purposes like the FB-22?

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I've wondered about that too. J-20 looks closer to a potential JH-20 or J-20B than F-22 looked to FB-22. A dedicated strike variant of the aircraft could be formidable. Then there are EW and recon roles you can derive from the excellent high altitude high speed performance, long endurance.

What would be the point? A modification as extensive as that is essentially redesigning the plane from the ground up; might as well design a dedicated multi-role stealth fighter.

siegecrossbow said:

Makes sense for a Taiwan Strait or South China Sea scenario. Supercruise and supersonic maneuverability, in this case, should be emphasized.

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Yep, and cac seems to have built an aircraft that will meet these expectations well.