China Flanker Thread II

[Air Force Brat]

You're making the assumptions that 1. all combat roles should be filled by stealth fighters and 2. highly up-graded 4th generation fighters cannot meaningfully contribute to a fight in which an adversary uses stealth aircraft.

1. stealth fighters are greatly limited in carrying capacity (at least in stealth configuration) so if you need a jet to haul and launch a huge anti-shipping missile without being an absolute sitting duck should anything go wrong, a heavily upgraded 4th generation fighter with great maneuverability, range, and payload and a powerful radar is perfect. Using H-6 would almost guarantee that you'd lose it if an enemy fighter got on it and using J-20 would be pointlessly expensive since it'd have to carry the missile externally and lose stealth.

2. Technologies for making it easier to track stealth fighters are rapidly evolving. A 4th generation fighter with excellent aerodynamic performance, highly modern AESA radar, and IRST, data-linked with other similar fighters, allied stealth fighters, and a powerful AWAC can give enemy stealth fighters, especially lower-end or budget stealth fighters, a big run for their money.

Well, if you are the throttle jockey, the best chance you have of going home on the horse you rode in on, is 5 gen, while there is a lot of work ongoing to find, track, and shoot 5 gens, that's still a tall order, granted a loaded 4.5 gen like the Su-35 will be much better than the alternatives, and the Flanker remains a very capable aircraft for many different missions? and any up close ride out an check em out, where you go eyeball to eyeball with your bogey, well, you better have your finger on the trigger, because no doubt your bogey has a very fine Mk-1 cannon on that Flanker? that ain't nuthin you want to mess with??

 

[SinoSoldier]

New photo:

 

[Air Force Brat]

Looks a bit like J-10B nose. btw Changing nose would affect the rest of the plane's aerodynamics yes?

not necessarily, for one thing, any radome redesign will be thoroughly tested and flight tested to be certain it does not induce any adverse handling characteristics, since this is a very simple nose cone style, and not the flattened lifting body style with the heavy strakes originating at the nose, the change should be very minimal if noticeable at all?

 

[b787]

not necessarily, for one thing, any radome redesign will be thoroughly tested and flight tested to be certain it does not induce any adverse handling characteristics, since this is a very simple nose cone style, and not the flattened lifting body style with the heavy strakes originating at the nose, the change should be very minimal if noticeable at all?

changes in radome change the aerodynamics of the whole aircraft, it has been proven by NASA studies on X-31.

If you look at the Su-27 and Su-35 you will see Su-35 has some strip protuding from the radome this have the same function to sideplates flanking the pitot tube at the cone`s tip of the MiG-29 that has a very smooth radome without protruding strips.
However the Su-27M has not such strips but it also has Canards something that both Su-27 and Su-35 lack.

It is possible the new Chinese Flanker might have similar solutions in order to avoid controlability problems such as side slips at high alpha

 

[Blitzo]

Bigger version of the new photo

 

[jkliz]

So apparently this is confirmed by Chinese media? On a side note that reference to the Star Wars 7 trailer in the PLAAF commercial was awesome! XD I've always thought of the Flanker as an X-wing.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Did they change the shape of the nose cone?

 

[Blitzo]

Yes, the radome is now very much canted like J-10B/C's.
They definitely won't be fitting a mechanically scanned array in there.

 

[SinoSoldier]

So apparently this is confirmed by Chinese media? On a side note that reference to the Star Wars 7 trailer in the PLAAF commercial was awesome! XD I've always thought of the Flanker as an X-wing.

 

[manqiangrexue]

So apparently this is confirmed by Chinese media? On a side note that reference to the Star Wars 7 trailer in the PLAAF commercial was awesome! XD I've always thought of the Flanker as an X-wing.

Wow, they really screwed the pooch with the Star Wars music... video looked pretty good up till that part. Literally elevator music would have been better.