J-20 Mighty Dragon (Best photographs)

[Martin]

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New J-20 Mighty Dragon takeoff


J-20 Mighty Dragon recent takeoff from Chengdu airfield

[Note: Thank you to SiegeCrossbow for the picture.]

[Martin]

Why is a J-20 larger than a F-22? Unique recallable thermonuclear strike capability.


The J-20 Mighty Dragon was most likely designed with thermonuclear strike capability as a cornerstone.

Why is the J-20 Mighty Dragon larger than a F-22 Raptor? The answer should be obvious. The smaller F-22 Raptor is designed strictly as an air-dominance fighter. The larger J-20 is designed as a multi-role air-dominance and strike fighter.

The F-22 has the simple job of gaining air-superiority over an airspace. The J-20 has a more versatile function. The J-20 is designed to challenge the F-22 for control of an airspace. In addition, I believe the J-20 serves the purpose of a stealthy air-to-surface strike fighter.

The J-20 provides the CCP with the unique capability of a stealthy recallable thermonuclear weapon platform. If the CCP chooses, it can send out stealthy J-20s with W-88 class thermonuclear warheads to eliminate all major enemy bases within its range.

The J-20 is a nightmare weapon for enemies of China. The J-20 is a piloted supercruising maneuverable stealth fighter capable of carrying two W-88 class thermonuclear warheads with 475 kilotons each.

The stealthy J-20 is a superb first-strike weapon. The J-20 greatly complicates the planning of any potential adversary of China. Large enemy military bases can be eliminated in the blink of an eye. The J-20 puts the pressure on the adversary to detect and defend against all J-20 fighters.

Missile defense systems are useless against a stealthy J-20 that literally drops a 475-kiloton thermonuclear warhead right on top of your base.

The argument that the J-20 was intentionally designed to be larger than the F-22 due to inferior engine technology never made any sense. China had planned to match F-22 engine performance in the future. It would not have mattered if the J-20 (with currently less-powerful engines) cruised at a slower speed or did not supercruise at all for now.

If it was intended to be an air-dominance fighter, the J-20 should have been roughly the size of a F-22. Future J-20 engine upgrades were part of the plan.

Instead, the J-20 was intentionally designed to be significantly larger than the F-22. The J-20 has subsumed the role of a Q-5A thermonuclear-capable aircraft. The Q-5A with a thermonuclear payload is not currently survivable in enemy airspace. However, the J-20 is designed specifically to penetrate enemy defenses and fulfill the role of a stealthy thermonuclear-armed Q-5A (see citation below).

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China's Q-5A attack aircraft dropped an one megaton thermonuclear warhead in 1972


A Nanchang Q-5A attack aircraft dropped a one megaton KB-1 thermonuclear warhead in 1972.


"This is a short video of the 12th Chinese nuclear weapons test. This was a test of the [one megaton] KB-1 thermonuclear warhead dropped from a Qiang-5 attack aircraft."

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We have previously examined China's thermonuclear weapon delivery vehicles.

1. DF-31A ICBM from silos or a road-mobile TEL (transporter, erector, launcher)

2. JL-2 SLBM from Type 094 Jin-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)

3. CJ-10A nuclear-capable ALCM (air-launched cruise missile) with 2,000 to 2,200km range from a H-6K bomber, which can carry six CJ-10A ALCMs at a time.

4. A Nanchang Q-5A attack aircraft with a one megaton KB-1 thermonuclear payload. Using American criterion, a one megaton warhead is classified as a "city-buster."

5. DH-10 nuclear-capable LACM (land-attack cruise missile) with over 4,000km range

DH-10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"According to Janes, the DH-10 is a second-generation land-attack cruise missile (LACM), integrated inertial navigation system, GPS, terrain contour mapping system, and digital scene-matching terminal-homing system.[3] The missile is estimated to have a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 meters. In 2008, a Pentagon report estimated the range of the DH-10 as over 4,000 km and that from 50 to 250 missiles had been deployed.[1]
...
Some sources predicted that the first operational deployment of Chinese indigenous LACM took place in 2004~2005. The PLA Second Artillery Corps (Strategic Missile Force) has formed a Cruise Missile Brigade based at Jianshui, Yunnan Province in southern China."


DH-10 nuclear-capable LACM with over 4,000km range

[EastWind]

Why is a J-20 larger than a F-22? Unique recallable thermonuclear strike capability.


The J-20 Mighty Dragon was most likely designed with thermonuclear strike capability as a cornerstone.

Why is the J-20 Mighty Dragon larger than a F-22 Raptor? The answer should be obvious. The smaller F-22 Raptor is designed strictly as an air-dominance fighter. The larger J-20 is designed as a multi-role air-dominance and strike fighter.

The F-22 has the simple job of gaining air-superiority over an airspace. The J-20 has a more versatile function. The J-20 is designed to challenge the F-22 for control of an airspace. In addition, I believe the J-20 serves the purpose of a stealthy air-to-surface strike fighter.

The J-20 provides the CCP with the unique capability of a stealthy recallable thermonuclear weapon platform. If the CCP chooses, it can send out stealthy J-20s with W-88 class thermonuclear warheads to eliminate all major enemy bases within its range.

The J-20 is a nightmare weapon for enemies of China. The J-20 is a piloted supercruising maneuverable stealth fighter capable of carrying two W-88 class thermonuclear warheads with 475 kilotons each.

The stealthy J-20 is a superb first-strike weapon. The J-20 greatly complicates the planning of any potential adversary of China. Large enemy military bases can be eliminated in the blink of an eye. The J-20 puts the pressure on the adversary to detect and defend against all J-20 fighters.

Missile defense systems are useless against a stealthy J-20 that literally drops a 475-kiloton thermonuclear warhead right on top of your base.

The argument that the J-20 was intentionally designed to be larger than the F-22 due to inferior engine technology never made any sense. China had planned to achieve F-22 engine technology in the future. It would not have mattered if the J-20 (with currently less-powerful engines) cruised at a slower speed or did not supercruise at all for now.

If it was intended to be an air-dominance fighter, the J-20 should have been roughly the size of a F-22. Future J-20 engine upgrades were part of the plan.

Instead, the J-20 was intentionally designed to be significantly larger than the F-22. The J-20 has subsumed the role of a Q-5A thermonuclear-capable aircraft. The Q-5A with a thermonuclear payload is not currently survivable in enemy airspace. However, the J-20 is designed specifically to penetrate enemy defenses and fulfill the role of a stealthy thermonuclear-armed Q-5A (see citation below).

----------

China's Q-5A attack aircraft dropped an one megaton thermonuclear warhead in 1972


A Nanchang Q-5A attack aircraft dropped a one megaton KB-1 thermonuclear warhead in 1972.


"This is a short video of the 12th Chinese nuclear weapons test. This was a test of the [one megaton] KB-1 thermonuclear warhead dropped from a Qiang-5 attack aircraft."

----------

We have previously examined China's thermonuclear weapon delivery vehicles.

1. DF-31A ICBM from silos or a road-mobile TEL (transporter, erector, launcher)

2. JL-2 SLBM from Type 094 Jin-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)

3. CJ-10A nuclear-capable ALCM (air-launched cruise missile) with 2,000 to 2,200km range from a H-6K bomber, which can carry six CJ-10A ALCMs at a time.

4. A Nanchang Q-5A attack aircraft with a one megaton KB-1 thermonuclear payload. Using American criterion, a one megaton warhead is classified as a "city-buster."

5. DH-10 nuclear-capable LACM (land-attack cruise missile) with over 4,000km range

DH-10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"According to Janes, the DH-10 is a second-generation land-attack cruise missile (LACM), integrated inertial navigation system, GPS, terrain contour mapping system, and digital scene-matching terminal-homing system.[3] The missile is estimated to have a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 meters. In 2008, a Pentagon report estimated the range of the DH-10 as over 4,000 km and that from 50 to 250 missiles had been deployed.[1]
...
Some sources predicted that the first operational deployment of Chinese indigenous LACM took place in 2004~2005. The PLA Second Artillery Corps (Strategic Missile Force) has formed a Cruise Missile Brigade based at Jianshui, Yunnan Province in southern China."


DH-10 nuclear-capable LACM with over 4,000km range

Original Post By Martian

This is one of the best informed and well written article I've read in a long time.

[rocky.cdf]

DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter Advances


Jan 31, 2012




By Bill Sweetman
Washington

Every indication is that nobody in Western intelligence saw the Chengdu J-20 coming. While it was known that China was developing a stealthy combat aircraft, the J-20 has emerged earlier than expected and appears to be more mature than the X‑plane or demonstrator that many people anticipated.

The debut of the J-20 had been predicted in a November 2009 interview on Chinese television by Gen. He Weirong, deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The general said at the time that a “fourth-generation” fighter would be flown in 2010-11 and be operational in 2017-19.

At least two J-20 prototypes were complete by the time the aircraft made its first flight—or at least its first public flight—on Jan. 11, 2011. The two aircraft are distinguished by the detail design of their exhaust nozzles, leading to speculation that one of the aircraft has Russian-supplied AL-31F engines, of the type fitted to the Chengdu J-10, and the other has the Chinese-developed WS-10 engine.

The J-20 is a big aircraft. Although its overall length (around 66 ft.) is not much greater than that of the 62-ft. Lockheed Martin F-22, the main structure from nose to exhaust nozzles is considerably longer. Like the F-22, it has large weapon bays in the lower fuselage and smaller side bays, the latter probably dedicated to air-to-air missiles.

The J-20 echoes the canard configuration of the J-10, but with canards level with, and immediately in front of, the wing. Two small, canted, all-moving vertical stabilizers are fitted. Although no U.S. manned stealth aircraft have flown with canards, a tail-first layout was featured by early Joint Strike Fighter designs, including Lockheed Martin’s—which the J-20 resembles—and McDonnell Douglas’ X-36 unmanned demonstrator.

Stealth design features mostly follow Lockheed Martin F-22 and X-35 practice. A high chine line around the forebody continues through the inlets and upper body, and flat, canted side surfaces blend into a flat underside via a small-radius edge. The canopy shape is also reminiscent of the F-22. The J-20 uses a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI)—originally developed by Lockheed Martin, DSI technology is now used on the J‑10B, JF-17 and (according to one report) the Saab Gripen JAS 39E/F.

The rear-aspect view of the aircraft is not as stealthy, a feature also seen on the Sukhoi T-50. This is clearly an intentional trade, eliminating the heavy 2D nozzles of the F-22. In this respect, both the T-50 and J-20 reflect the philosophy behind the pre-1986 Advanced Tactical Fighter studies that preceded the F-22, based on the theory that a fast, high-flying, agile aircraft is relatively immune from rear-quarter attacks.

According to a Chinese paper released on the Internet, the main goal of the design was to achieve high speed and maneuverability with the engines that would be available to China in the near future—the AL-31F and WS-10—which do not have the same thrust/weight ratio as the latest Western engines. This resulted in the selection of a delta wing and relatively long body for low supersonic drag, plus large, high-deflection canards to provide agility. The all-moving vertical tails are said to be 40% smaller than conventional fin/rudder designs, and accordingly lighter. Supercruise is probably not attainable with existing engines, but the design looks capable of it, once propulsion technology in China improves.

In 2012, China-watchers will be monitoring progress with the flight-test program and looking for signs of work on the many challenging aspects of stealth. A stealth fighter needs multispectral, active and passive sensors to detect and track its targets, and those sensors need to be fused and managed to minimize emissions. Similarly, to operate at maximum effectiveness as part of a networked force, stealth aircraft need effective low-probability-of-intercept voice and data communication systems. These are problems that the U.S. is still wrestling with, after 25 years of work.

There is another, more fundamental question: What is the J-20 for? The fighter is large for air combat—but China, simply because of geographical factors, doesn’t face an adversary fighter force of the kind that the F-22 was designed to counter. At the same time, the J-20 weapon bays are not large enough for most standoff air-to-surface weapons. One possibility is that the J-20 is intended to threaten intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and tankers, by using stealth and speed to defeat their escorts.

[Martin]

Terrific J-20 Mighty Dragon close-up photographs


J-20 taxiing


Another day of tests

[Note: Thank you to Hu Songshan and J-20 Mighty Dragon Continue Flight Testing in February 2012 ~ Chinese Military Review]

[Martin]

New recent photographs of J-20 Mighty Dragon.


J-20 is parked among other fighter planes.


On the left, one J-10 single-seat Vigorous Dragon. Four J-10S twin-seat fighter-trainers in the middle. J-20 on the right.


A closer look at J-20 cockpit area.

[Note: Thank you to SiegeCrossbow for the pictures.]

[Martin]

Latest photograph.


Air vortices over the air ducts and main wings of J-20 Mighty Dragon

[Note: Thank you to SiegeCrossbow for the picture.]

[capricorn]

[capricorn]

A slightly bigger image of the top view of the J20 cockpit.

[Martin]

Multi-angle sights of China's J-20 fighter - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Multi-angle sights of China's J-20 fighter
English.news.cn | 2012-02-13 10:57:51 | Editor: Chen Zhi


(Photo: news.cn/mil)

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China's J-20 fighter unfolds landing gear bay - People's Daily Online

China's J-20 fighter unfolds landing gear bay
(People's Daily Online)
14:54, February 28, 2012

Edited and Translated by Ye Xin, People's Daily Online


Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2012 shows the sharpest-ever image of the landing gear of Fighter J-20 shortly after its takeoff. (huanqiu.com)


China’s J-20 stealth jet fighter is prepared for a test flight on Feb. 26, 2012. (huanqiu.com)


China’s J-20 stealth jet fighter conducts a test flight on Feb. 26, 2012. (huanqiu.com)