Some preliminary thoughts on this historic day:
1. We should call the Chengdu 6th gen the J-XXX in honor of its three engines.
2. J-XXX is comparable in length to the J-20 and significantly wider and thicker. This is consistent with rumors that it can have MTOW of >50 tons.
3. Three engines likely reflect a requirement to provide >40 tons of thrust with low-bypass turbofans. For the near future, the WS-15 will be China's premier engine. Thus, three engine is the only viable option.
4. The J-XXX has very prominent shiny apertures on both sides of the chin. This is likely a pair of metalic RAM-coated optical windows (which is why it is shiny) for IR sensors. The IR sensors occupy prime sensor real estate on the J-XXX which indicate the enormous emphasis on IR detection which will be highly useful against B-21, NGAD as well as current 5th gens.
5. There are side facing AESA on the chine. There appears to be two pairs of two RF apertures, one large and one small. These could two arrays of different radar bands or the smaller array may be a datalink. At present, it is unclear if the J-XXX has a radar in the traditional location. Side facing arrays would be very useful for SAR.
6. We need to popularize the term all-aspect/broad band (A2B2) stealth. All-aspect means stealth from the front, sides and back. Broad band means stealth from Ku band all the way down to VHF. A2B2 stealth will be the defining characteristic of 6th gens. J-XXX, B-2 and the B-21 are A2B2 stealth. 5th gen are relatively frontal-aspect/higher-frequency band stealth.
7. Surprisingly, ventral intakes of the J-XXX are caret intakes similar to the F-22. This likely reflects a very high supersonic speed requirement in excess of Mach 2, which is beyond the efficient speed range for DSI. Its wing sweep angle is around 50 degrees (larger=lower supersonic drag=higher speed design). For reference, the J-20 and F-22 are around 42-43 degrees and the SR-71 was around 60 degrees. The dorsal intake is likely a DSI and cleverly used the cockpit as the bump which also likely reduce RCS.
8. At present, there are no known Chinese drones with the same range and flight performance as the J-XXX. I am therefore very skeptical of claims that close-integration with drones will be a key component of 6th gen aircrafts. I envision the J-XXX to primarily coordinate with other J-XXXs far from the Chinese mainland.
9. My very rough measurement of the weapon bay suggests a wideth of ~4m and a length of ~7m. This is enough for the
5.76m PL-17 but not quite enough for back to back 2*4m PL-15.
10. It goes without saying that the strategic impact of the J-XXX will be immeasureable. It's essentially a death sentence for all existing American battle plans. CSIS needs to rewrite their garbage reports.
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