Shenyang next gen combat aircraft thread
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
I will definitely buy scale models of the Trifecta (J-36, J-50, and H-20) when the time comes
We know from images that SAC's new fighter is much thicker than the model shown in the 2021 paper. If we assume the engines are mounted above the main airfoil and extends the air-frame downwards, there is actually plenty of room to install weapon bays towards the aft of the plane.
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so if we carry the conversation over for 004 thread. Looks like they may be putting J-XX models on 004 deck.
It looks to be longer than even J-15. Has the very wide nose and fuselage. Given that J-35 already has pretty wide nose when compared to J-15. J-XX nose again (like J-36) is just humongous. I would not be surprised if MTOW is > 40 ton.
It looks to be longer than even J-15. Has the very wide nose and fuselage. Given that J-35 already has pretty wide nose when compared to J-15. J-XX nose again (like J-36) is just humongous. I would not be surprised if MTOW is > 40 ton.
This actually could make sense. It doesn't address the groove in the middle though. Couldn't the weapon bay be continuous, or span the width of the fuselage in this case?
The pressure diagrams of the 2021 paper shows the two humps above the airfoil are acting like vertical tails, stabilizing the aircraft laterally. My guess is SAC is testing two different weapons bay layouts. The black prototype has a flat bottom that achieves better stealth, where the white prototype's weapons bay is split into two halves to improve stability in high alpha like a pair of ventral fins.
There are no clear photos of the black prototype so we can't say for sure that it has a different underside compared to the white prototype. Additionally, something as fundamental as IWB placement/configuration would have likely been decided at the design or subscale wind-tunnel test stage rather than prototype flights. The two prototypes likely have the same overall configuration; my guess is that one of them is either an earlier prototype or a naval variant.
Wow, TWZ beats SDF in obtaining new imagery! This certainly throws a wrench into current theories about J-50 prototypes, especially since the photo of this new airframe is recent.
It could be a CCA or a different variant of the J-50 altogether. I don't think it's a developmental prototype of the J-50 since its wings are significantly different from that of the other two (black and white) prototypes.
A true CATOBAR variant?
