World's 5th gen fighters - relative strengths and weaknesses
- Thread starter The Observer
- Start date
Whenever someone says "J-20 is a copy of Mig 1.44", I always reply: "Bro, China had canards on J-10 and J-9 for over 46 years, long before Mig 1.44 was even on the drawing boards. J-20 is just an dual engine stealth version of J-9, not a copy cat of Mig 1.44."
J-20 is further from Mig 144 than Rafale is from Typhoon. Greater dimensional differences compared to the latter group, greater material differences, greater weapons bay differences (Mig doesn't even have an internal bay), totally different engines, J-20 has all moving stabilisers, obviously completely different internal subsystems radar etc. Therefore very different centre of gravity, balance, weight, weight distribution etc.
This means the flight control for J-20 is so insanely unique compared to Mig's that the engineers may as well (in fact could only) develop everything from scratch down to the number of threads on the smallest bolt. Non technical people and morons/ chauvinists don't get that. They see canards that's all.
J-20 has three bays with three sets of doors. Totally different wings to the Mig and a long arm canard set up whereas the Mig uses a close coupled canard. That's a world of engineering difference.
I bet none of these people could tell a Japanese WW2 fighter from a Soviet one from an American one from a British one from a German one. Machine guns also look alike superficially. Same with rockets same with everything engineered. The J-20's specific stealth shaping approach definitely benefited from at least eyeballing F-22. Alignments, angles, shapes etc follow that lockmart generation of stealth design PRINCIPLES. But pulling it all off without being a total 1:1 means the CAC engineers learned, understood, and tested through all those principles to employ on the J-20. The Americans led the world into 5th gen design and it is by no accident everyone else with a program is basically using that design rather than say F-117 approach or Northrop's approach (more suited for difference flight parameters and vehicles). That is the cost of being a leader as well. You've paved the way with a proven workable GENERAL design.
One doesn't own principles and general ideas like how to shape a radome to best yield lowest RCS from most angles. Just like Arabs and Indians don't own everything that was developed using their number systems. Or Chinese don't own everything that was developed or associated with using paper and gunpowder etc.
The F-15 is closer to the F-22 than the Mig 144 is to the J-20 that's how technically different it is. But whatever. Stupid and angry losers are gonna be like that sometimes.