China's transport, tanker & heavy lift aircraft

[00CuriousObserver]

(assuming it even is a ground attack variant to begin with, or that such a variant even exists)

 

[vincent]

王世怡 from the guancha gang had suggested Y-9 with guns may be produced for drone hunting.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

Here is a ceramic composite armor plate study by... Shaanxi

Effect of Impact Angle of Attack on the Penetration of Ceramic Composite Armor Plates by 12.7 mm Armor-Piercing Incendiary Projectiles

Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd., Hanzhong, Shaanxi 723000, China
School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210094, China

Abstract: Penetration tests using a 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary projectile were carried out on a ceramic composite armor plate of a specific configuration, yielding the projectile’s ballistic limit velocity against the composite armor and the damage morphology of the target plate. Based on the LS-DYNA smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method, a finite element model of projectile penetration into the ceramic composite armor plate was established. By comparing the experimental and numerical results for the projectile’s ballistic limit velocity against the target plate, the damage morphology and perforation size on the front face of the ceramic plate, and the deformation and damage on the rear face of the composite target plate, the validity of the model was verified. The established finite element model was then used to analyze the influence of the projectile’s impact angle of attack on the dynamic responses of both the projectile and the target plate during penetration. The results show that, compared with the zero-angle-of-attack case, when the angle of attack is no greater than 6°, increasing the angle of attack can improve the projectile’s penetration capability against the ceramic composite armor plate because the contact area at the projectile nose is smaller. However, when the angle of attack increases further, after the projectile penetrates the ceramic target plate, its larger deflection angle causes the tail of the projectile to continue interacting with unfractured ceramic outside the central crushed zone, consuming part of its kinetic energy and thus reducing its penetration capability. The energy absorbed by the ceramic is about five times that absorbed by the composite layer. This indicates that the projectile’s impact angle of attack mainly affects the final penetration performance of the target plate by influencing the ceramic plate’s energy absorption.

 

[no_name]

王世怡 from the guancha gang had suggested Y-9 with guns may be produced for drone hunting.

Kinda make sense. It would loiter around assets that needs protection. Use look down radars optimised for scanning approaching drones. Then engage them with gunfire. But this would probably be for time critical, short-duration missions. Maybe special force related.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Some are speculating that this is a demonstrator for future Y-15s

Speaking of which, it has been almost 4 months since we first saw the Y-15 conducting its maiden flight.

Kinda odd that there are no newer footages ever since, apart from that one footage. Any new information on the progress of the Y-15?

 

[Gloire_bb]

王世怡 from the guancha gang had suggested Y-9 with guns may be produced for drone hunting.

Why not.

But above all, if persistent gun overwatch is too dangerous, in modern day and era gunship can perform perfectly as a small drone mothership and stand in command node.

Same drones can do a2a intercept equally well, as long as aircraft has fuel and drones onboard.

 

[Atomicfrog]

Speaking of which, it has been almost 4 months since we first saw the Y-15 conducting its maiden flight.

Kinda odd that there are no newer footages ever since, apart from that one footage. Any new information on the progress of the Y-15?

Maybe being a quad turboprop it doesnt get enough attention of onlookers until its to late to take pictures.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

Allegedly (a rumour posted by 鼎盛大彪) some sort of ground attack variant...? “攻运-9”?

View attachment 173377
View attachment 173378

Well there we have it. Today's Chahuahui title: China’s gunship aircraft, the most important thing is to "build it first and use it for now".

In fact, they specified that it's a gunship shown in these photos.

They emphasized the importance of actually using the equipment so the PLA could test and verify things in practice, especially for equipment that the PLA has never had. This includes not only whether gunships themselves are feasible, but also the specific design details of the aircraft. For example, the AC-130 has all of its guns mounted on one side. Well, would a rotating turret be better?

(my comment) Why use a Y-9 instead of waiting for the Y-15? The Y-15 still needs a couple more years of flight testing, and then it'll likely need a few more years before production ramps up enough for a gunship variant to be a priority. The time saved probably makes it worth designing gunship variants for both aircraft. I also would think of this as a "medium transport based ground attack aircraft" rather than "gunship".

 

[siegecrossbow]

Well there we have it. Today's Chahuahui title: China’s gunship aircraft, the most important thing is to "build it first and use it for now".

In fact, they specified that it's a gunship shown in these photos.

They emphasized the importance of actually using the equipment so the PLA could test and verify things in practice, especially for equipment that the PLA has never had. This includes not only whether gunships themselves are feasible, but also the specific design details of the aircraft. For example, the AC-130 has all of its guns mounted on one side. Well, would a rotating turret be better?

(my comment) Why use a Y-9 instead of waiting for the Y-15? The Y-15 still needs a couple more years of flight testing, and then it'll likely need a few more years before production ramps up enough for a gunship variant to be a priority. The time saved probably makes it worth designing gunship variants for both aircraft. I also would think of this as a "medium transport based ground attack aircraft" rather than "gunship".

They must be confident of achieving air dominance if they are willing to invest in a gunship design.

 

[00CuriousObserver]

They must be confident of achieving air dominance if they are willing to invest in a gunship design.

Could also be used for counter-terrorism. Imagine deploying to Pakistan, or somewhere in Africa.

There are lot of use cases against not high end opponents.