Great work. Did the artist actually see it in flight or are the details - such as the side bays and side arrays - just speculation on his part?
Shenyang next gen combat aircraft thread
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Given that the all-moving wingtips are missing, I'm putting my bet on speculations.
Fighters can carry bombs since WWII. So long it is aircraft for killing other aircraft, it is a fighter. Any other class of aircraft can go, fighter will always remain. Even if we arrive at age where fighter bomber and bomber cease to exist, fighter always will remain as a category. If every other category cease to exist, that last one will be fighter.
1945: we have this new aircraft, it is powered by jet engine that can perform as interceptor and air superiority fighter at same time. What should we call it?
Answer: fighter
1960: We have new type of aircraft that can replace nightfighters, while work like conventional fighter. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
1970: We have this new type of aircraft that has radar for both air fight and look down for ground strike. It is like a bomber and fighter at same time. Its name?
Answer: fighter (multi-role)
1980: we have this new aircraft thats has phased array and active guided missiles. It can fold its wing both for dog fighting or high speed cruise like interceptor. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2000s: we have this new class of aircraft that has radar comparable of earlier AWAC while pretty much can perform job of a fighter. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2024: we have this new class of aircraft that acts as node for drone command, while able to dominate the sky directly. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2037: we have this new class of aircraft that is barely aircraft anymore. It can cruise in near space where satelite hangs. There are barely any air there and it looks like a space shuttle. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2089: we have this new class of aircraft that can fight in exoatmosphere condition on Mars and travel bewteen both planets. Also it shoots laser. Before you ask, its main job is fight other planes. What shall we call it?
Answer: FIGHTER
1945: we have this new aircraft, it is powered by jet engine that can perform as interceptor and air superiority fighter at same time. What should we call it?
Answer: fighter
1960: We have new type of aircraft that can replace nightfighters, while work like conventional fighter. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
1970: We have this new type of aircraft that has radar for both air fight and look down for ground strike. It is like a bomber and fighter at same time. Its name?
Answer: fighter (multi-role)
1980: we have this new aircraft thats has phased array and active guided missiles. It can fold its wing both for dog fighting or high speed cruise like interceptor. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2000s: we have this new class of aircraft that has radar comparable of earlier AWAC while pretty much can perform job of a fighter. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2024: we have this new class of aircraft that acts as node for drone command, while able to dominate the sky directly. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2037: we have this new class of aircraft that is barely aircraft anymore. It can cruise in near space where satelite hangs. There are barely any air there and it looks like a space shuttle. What shall we call it?
Answer: fighter
2089: we have this new class of aircraft that can fight in exoatmosphere condition on Mars and travel bewteen both planets. Also it shoots laser. Before you ask, its main job is fight other planes. What shall we call it?
Answer: FIGHTER
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Quick question - what does the “P” in P-51D Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning, or P-80 Shooting Star [first USA(A)F combat jet] stand for?
Apologies, it was rhetorical… What I’m saying is that they in fact did not always call them Fighters.
Before “fighter”, the British called them Scouts. The US classified them as Pursuit, which itself came from what the French still call them today - Chasseur (halfway between the English meaning of “hunter” and “chaser” or “to chase”). The Russians even called them Exterminators.
France was once the global centre of aviation science and technology, which is why so many aviation terms are in French (such as the USN designation ‘V’ for fixed-wing heavier than air squadron, from the French ‘Voler’, meaning to fly). Even airship designations start with a ‘Z’, because a German guy called Ferdinand von Zeppelin invented them.
But for some reason, instead of being emboldened and allowing China (CAC in this case) to write their own narrative - a privilege bestowed upon all who pioneer something - we have people insisting that there be conformance to someone else’s narrative, an increasingly outdated one at that.
To put it bluntly, I couldn’t care less about the term ‘Fighter’. I’ll call something like the J-36 whatever Wang Haifeng prefers it to be called. They get the privilege of defining the new epoch, so anything else can be damned.
*I’ve used J-36 as an example given it’s more pertinent, and because I don’t know the J-XDS designer’s name, nor any of their views on the aircraft.
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