Zhuhai Airshow 2022

Deino said:

That’s in fact the most interesting detail so far spotted, it’s a construction number and if we are correct, it means Batch 03 aircraft number 70 (the second one had CB0369).

Just to remember: when the 1st Air Brigade unveiled its J-20As in January 2022 construction number CB0256 was spotted, now these are CB0369 & CB0370.

And since these two numbers are serial numbers 78130 & 78131, it must be reminded, that serial 78132 was identified back in April 2022. So assuming the 10 serials aircraft were delivered sequentially, it would imply this CB0370 airframe existed back in April! … and this means we eventually - to phrase is carefully - need to raise our number estimates of J-20As in service dramatically?!

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If the CB03XX batch (i.e. Batch 03) has been spotted all the way back in April... could that mean Chengdu is now well into the production of Batch 04 J-20s?

If the number is up for toss, J-20 should have at least 200-250 units by now?

Now, this is very interesting.

NORINCO is marketing a concept combined arms brigade equipped fully by NORINCO products. From artillery, missiles, ATGMS, and armored vehicles to communications equipment, SAMs, drones, and unmanned ground combat vehicles, you can conveniently order from the same catalog. Heck, it even comes with a brigade command center should the customer want the whole nine yards.

by78 said:

Now, this is very interesting.

NORINCO is marketing a concept combined arms brigade equipped fully by NORINCO products. From artillery, missiles, ATGMS, and armored vehicles to communications equipment, SAMs, drones, and unmanned ground combat vehicles, you can conveniently order from the same catalog. Heck, it even comes with a brigade command center should the customer want the whole nine yards.

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this indeed is very interesting, export the whole system... who is the target customer?

A great look at J-20's cockpit, without the canopy getting in the way.

Blitzo said:

@stannislas

Still rather off angle.

I say this not because we don't know what J-20's cockpit generally looks like -- but because the photo I was talking about basically had a perfect shot to finally get a close up, almost perfect clear view of the inside of the cockpit for once, but the canard got in the way.

Obviously, that obstruction is by design, as these photographers likely have instructions to not take clear pictures of the cockpit, but it's still humorous how "neatly" the canard blocked the view.

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If I recall correctly a few months ago we caught a glimpse of a J-20 simulator on CCTV. I think it should be pretty similar to the real thing since it is used to train J-20 pilots. But until we see the actual thing we can’t be 100 percent certain.

zszczhyx said:

hq-11 not a new thing

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What the heck is hq-11? Must've missed that. Is there a link to a source with more on the product, if it's already known?

Anyway, to me it looks like hq6d system updated with new missiles.

Totoro said:

What the heck is hq-11? Must've missed that. Is there a link to a source with more on the product, if it's already known?

Anyway, to me it looks like hq6d system updated with new missiles.

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Indeed ... I think I somewhere read HQ-6B??

PS ... but wait ...

Totoro said:

What the heck is hq-11? Must've missed that. Is there a link to a source with more on the product, if it's already known?

Anyway, to me it looks like hq6d system updated with new missiles.

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HQ-11 designation would suggest PLA operation. What the example here in Zhuhai shows might be some HQ-6x series based old SAMs that have been modernised. But I'm also lost as to what HQ-11 is.

A missile's shell is far less important than all the electronics surrounding the SAM. After all, the AMRAAM, Sidewinder, ESSM, SM-x series, and many many other modern capable missiles still use the same shell design of missiles from the 1950s (e.g. Sidewinder).

So a HQ-6x series missile could be repurposed if every piece of software and electronics are modernised around it. A SAM system is mostly the software and electronics rather than the missile itself. I mean yes that's important but there's a short point of diminishing returns esp when it comes to just the shell's design. Propellant and rocket motor are themselves more important than the design of the shell. Everything else is electronics electronics electronics... and software.