PLA next/6th generation fighter thread

Atomicfrog

Major
Registered Member
Hi,
soon can be like another 6/8 years, after USA six generation fully operational, another wild
guess once no more upgrade left over for J20s in near future probably the. We can see china
6th generation, by the way little off topic if it’s like 15/18 years of gap between USA and China
5th generation we might see 6th generation reducing the gap between 7/8 years
thank you
F-35 is still not fully operational... how can you think that USA six generation will be full operational before China have their six generation? Rate of development right now is on China side big time.
 

no_name

Colonel
AI would not operate with full free reign, there will be certain conditions hardcoded into it and they will be identified through synthetic (simulated data) and real data. Current implemented and widely used AI models dont entirely work like our brain does, people often mistake that it does, there are similarities but also lots of differences, but all that will be the next generation of AI. Simplest example is your brain can learn something just by seeing it, while AI needs to be trained on hundreds and thousands of images or that specific information to learn all that.
here is one good video to explain a bit more technically how all that works in AI.

Major countries are striving and racing towards that goal of next-gen AI and obviously it will have alot of implications for defense and world in general. This is also why the supreconductor war is so critical. The most interesting of things will be the generation of AI after the next, where all those aritifical brains are connected through network and learn from each other. Imagine if all billions of humans have their brains networked to each other forming a single unified collective intelligence. Interesting times ahead and with exponential pace of technology and us taking good care of our health :D, we may just live to see it, remember everyone, carbs are the real baddies.

I'm aware of that. The current deep learning AI is more like really fancy mimicry.

All those data feed to it also have to be carefully pre-selected and sanitised first.
The current models cannot learn without supervision, party due to people fearing unexpected behaviors because current models are way too large and complex to be understood by any person or committee.

After learning is completed they are put into input/output only mode with internal parameters forbidden to be altered by novel data.
So I consider them as specific problem aids rather than true A.I.
 
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gelgoog

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Even if China is 10 years behind NGAD, I don't think it matters.
Are they? Maybe in engine technology. But definitively not in airframe design, electronics, and the like.

6th gen planes are the least impressive generation in my view. What is stopping J-20 from having most of the capabilities that 6th gen planes are supposed to have?
It is hard to compare with something which isn't even out yet.

There are 2 advantages that 6th gen is bringing that J-20 cannot have.

Tailless design which is supposed to be more stealthy. But this could have drawbacks like much less manuverability. Moreover, anti-Stealth tech is also developing fast. Radars that can detect stealth is developing, using AI to direct missiles using general direction of the plane before autonomous targetting might be coming in the future. So, I don't think adding even more stealth is going to be that gamechanger in the future.

Finally variable cycle engines, okay its more efficient and uses less fuel. J-20 already has more than enough range. Is even more range that big of a game changer? No.
Yes it is. Especially over the Pacific Theater. Still it is not as critical as with the short legged F-35 and F-22.

Overall, I am not that impressed with 6th gen planes. They r not that of a big deal compared to the gap between 4th gen vs 5th gen. Manned planes lobbing missile at each other is already getting obsolete. The future could be all about unmanned drones fighting more and more sophisticated SAMs. Fighter planes are going to be obsolete in the future in my view.
Drones are highly susceptible to EW. Until someone makes autonomous drones a reality instead of just a concept this won't change.

Planes going faster and faster is never happening. This kind of race happened in the 60s when Mig-31 and Sr-71 was developed. Manned planes can never go too fast without getting to the limit of G-Forces. Moreover, Turbofan engines will never be efficient enough for that. In the 60s, people used turbojets which went that fast.
There are plenty of propulsion technologies to make that a reality. From the UK's SABRE engine, to current work on detonation engines.

F-35 is still not fully operational... how can you think that USA six generation will be full operational before China have their six generation? Rate of development right now is on China side big time.
This is the US. The land of vaporware. Nevermind about the current version, because the next yet to be released, yet to be developed version is going to be all better.
 
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Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
I know it has the typical SCMP-taste, and you know my point of view towards "PLA related news & SCMP"! o_O

But usually I rate "Iron Lady" quite trustworthy: Anyway, IMO highly unlikely the 6th Gen fighter, sounds more like a concept if true. demonstrator.


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ZachL111

New Member
Registered Member
Anyone got access to the paper mentioned?
"Published on May 29 in the Chinese academic journal Advances in Aeronautical Science and Engineering"
View attachment 131664
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I can't access the two articles on 05-29-2024 from the journal due to restrictions, but there does seem to be two published that day in that journal. If anyone can get access, I'd also like to read the paper.
 

tphuang

Lieutenant General
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It's unclear to me how far along China's "6th gen" program is, but it looks like both NGAD and F/A-XX are in trouble (or at least going to be delayed for a long time) due to budgetary constraints
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So now, you have China kind of sitting pretty with J-20 program going pretty well and likely getting further updates after J-20A making it relevant until at least 2050.

I see that Rick got interviewed for
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where Brendan Mulvaney, the director of the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute, seem to be having some real copium for the progress of China's 6th gen program (given where NGAD is going)

But still, the question is this. If USAF is going to have a delayed entrance for NGAD due to funding issues, where does that leave PLA? I'm not saying PLA does thing to just keep up with USAF. If USAF and USN are stuck with some combo of F-35A+F-15s and F-35Cs+F-18s until at least 2040 (with what looks to be minimal "6th gen" participation), it seems like the threat profile facing PLA is less than otherwise expected for Westpac scenario.

Do we have PLA that slows down "6th gen" and put greater focus on unmanned options?
 

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
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...

But still, the question is this. If USAF is going to have a delayed entrance for NGAD due to funding issues, where does that leave PLA? I'm not saying PLA does thing to just keep up with USAF. If USAF and USN are stuck with some combo of F-35A+F-15s and F-35Cs+F-18s until at least 2040 (with what looks to be minimal "6th gen" participation), it seems like the threat profile facing PLA is less than otherwise expected for Westpac scenario.

Do we have PLA that slows down "6th gen" and put greater focus on unmanned options?


These are good questions but in mind of the simply disastrous and sobering television debate yesterday, I don't know what to expect in the coming years: one is a more than senile old man who is hardly in control of himself and the other is a pathologically egocentric egoist, narcissist, liar and convicted felon ... either way, I think difficult times are coming for us and especially the USA.
 
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