Chinese aerospace renaissance underway?
By Dave Majumdar on June 13, 2013
During the first half of 2013 a couple of new Chinese military aviation projects have come to light. One recent development was the sighting of China's Sharp Sword unmanned combat air vehicle, which was revealed in May. More recently, images have emerged of a structural model of what appears to be a new Chinese stealth bomber.
While many are tempted to dismiss the Chinese developments as mere knock-offs based on stolen Western technologies, there are those who believe that we, particularly those of us here in the United States, are underestimating China's capabilities.
Having examined the Chinese designs, a number of highly experienced US aerospace engineers--all of whom have extensive experience designing low observable aircraft--are convinced that not only are the new designs original, but that they are viable stealth airframes (even if they are not all-aspect stealth machines in some cases). "There is an aerospace renaissance underway in China," one engineer says. "It was just a matter of time."
The Sharp Sword not only looks viable as a low observable aircraft from many angles--save for the distinctly non-stealthy exhaust, it looks like it is an original design, one engineer says. Asked about the structural model for the Chinese stealth bomber, the engineer says that his unfortunate conclusion is that the aircraft is in fact a viable design.
While China is not yet an adversary of the Unites States, there is potential that as the country continues to reemerge as a great economic and military power that it could become one. In that case it would be foolish to underestimate the capabilities of Chinese engineers. "They have talented designers," one engineer says.
If it does come down to some sort of new Cold War, this time around the United States would be facing-off against an enemy with a vibrant economy, as a learned friend notes--a marked contrast to the Soviet Union, which was always hamstrung by its command economy.
