Since we're doing artists' concepts, here's mine. A bit ungainly looking, with a certainly ugly hump under he belly, due to the weapon bay. But otherwise I'm pretty happy with the general compromises made. Amount of fuel carried (prioritized), size of weapon bay (single, centerline), ground clearance, as well as overall lines. Should be right up Chengdu's alley, basically an amalagam of J-10 and J-20. Still looks fairly sleek. Hopefully with the long enough/spacious enough inlet duct and WS15 class engine one could remain hopeful it's supersonic agility and speed remains similar to J-10.
Future Single engine PLAAF fighter
- Thread starter Totoro
- Start date
FS-2020 promised 4+2 on a f119-class engine powered aircraft, without sacrificing supercruise capability.
So it is doable.(single-engined fighter with twin intakes is particularly suitable for this arrangement)
Stealth strike ambitions suffer, of course, as does any planned cross-development with the navy.
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TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
1)It's a paper concept
So it is doable..
2F35) is planned for a retrofit that allows 3 Air to air missiles per bay being it up to 6 missiles. Again conceptual.
3) I said 4 as I was thinking with the same missile systems found on J20 and similar deployment systems there in. IE the swing arms.
It doesn't contradict physics or established solutions in any serious way. It is just weapon bays, far away from any crucial framing.
Idea is, as long as you have the engine, the result can be competitive
against heavy 5th gens, yet cost much less to buy and operate.
A great and logical j-10 follow on.
But when China can have such an engine for a single engined fighter(i.e. we are talking about much higher stsndards than for a twin) is hard to say.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
I shouldn't need to reassess my thinking on this. If you want think of it as a minimum.
But FS2020 would have been based on Different missiles then a PLAAF single engine fighter. Mostly longer.
The missile bays of the FS2020 were to be theoretically laid out with two along the aft fuselage and one a head in center line. Most likely these would house the MBDA Meteor missile which is the current long range air to air missile of choice for the Europeans is 3.7meters long that's about the same for an AMRAAM.
PL15 is longer about 4 meters and there have been rumors of even longer types in development.
But FS2020 would have been based on Different missiles then a PLAAF single engine fighter. Mostly longer.
The missile bays of the FS2020 were to be theoretically laid out with two along the aft fuselage and one a head in center line. Most likely these would house the MBDA Meteor missile which is the current long range air to air missile of choice for the Europeans is 3.7meters long that's about the same for an AMRAAM.
PL15 is longer about 4 meters and there have been rumors of even longer types in development.
Another possible option would be to do something like what was proposed for the Super Hornet. Have an aircraft which still carries those rails, but have an optional 'stealth' bay attachment with an enclosed weapons pod. Even the F-35 has optional rail attachments available on the wings.
I agree that the WS-15 engine would be ideal for the single engine fighter.
I agree that the WS-15 engine would be ideal for the single engine fighter.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
External weapons pods have been proposed for a number of fighters including Raptors.
The advantage is of course they are stealthy-er than just a missile on a rail. But not as stealthy as internal bays they are also heavier.
I am not sure about the Russian and Chinese on this but for American designs when they use the external hard points after the weapon has been fired the pilot can eject the launcher rail mount removing it from his aircraft and "cleansing" the RCS if you will.