China Flanker Thread II

Status
Not open for further replies.

kriss

Junior Member
Registered Member
Amazing image of a J-16 ... but why on earth they are still equipping such a modern multi-role type with unguided rockets?? :oops:

(Image via @兵器知识杂志 from Weixin)

View attachment 71883
At this point I believe rocket fire is more of a flight training than live fire training. To land a rocket salvo on target pilot needs to perfectly control his plane with full knowledge how its aerodynamic works. OTOH drop precision munition only involves level flying to a nav point. And there are tons of rocket inventory anyway.
 

Schwerter_

Junior Member
Registered Member
Amazing image of a J-16 ... but why on earth they are still equipping such a modern multi-role type with unguided rockets?? :oops:

(Image via @兵器知识杂志 from Weixin)

View attachment 71883
Best guess: it's cheap to train with and to successfully perform a strafing run with unguided rockets requires good understanding of aircraft handling as well as fundementals in air-to-ground attack (attack course, ingress & egress altitude, etc)... I really can't think of much else

p.s. this may be well know here (in that case I apologize) but PLAAF and unguided rockets have become kind of a running joke in China xd
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Best guess: it's cheap to train with and to successfully perform a strafing run with unguided rockets requires good understanding of aircraft handling as well as fundementals in air-to-ground attack (attack course, ingress & egress altitude, etc)... I really can't think of much else

p.s. this may be well know here (in that case I apologize) but PLAAF and unguided rockets have become kind of a running joke in China xd

You forgot that it looks good on a magazine cover.
 

Deino

Lieutenant General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Best guess: it's cheap to train with and to successfully perform a strafing run with unguided rockets requires good understanding of aircraft handling as well as fundementals in air-to-ground attack (attack course, ingress & egress altitude, etc)... I really can't think of much else

p.s. this may be well know here (in that case I apologize) but PLAAF and unguided rockets have become kind of a running joke in China xd


I know, isn't there even a joke saying that any type in PLAAF service is only declared fully operational after being cleared to fire unguided rockets?! :p ;)
 

xyqq

Junior Member
Registered Member
Amazing image of a J-16 ... but why on earth they are still equipping such a modern multi-role type with unguided rockets?? :oops:

(Image via @兵器知识杂志 from Weixin)

View attachment 71883

A new batch of J-16? The radome is whiter than others':

J-16-pilots.jpg

The contrast is more obvious in the following image comparing one-third of the nearest radome to the next:

J-16-prep.jpg

Not sure whether it indicates an improved AESA radar, like J-11BG:

J-11BG-Shenyang.jpg

Or is merely for a visual effect (from a distance, the J-16 looks just like a Su-30MK2 except for its vertical stabilizers):

J-16-sea.jpg
 
Last edited:

xyqq

Junior Member
Registered Member
No, IMO they are from the 40th Air Brigade, which uses a mix of old (batch 03) with grey radome and new (batch 04) with white radome:

Here is the cn. 0412 or 0417 (?) visible.

View attachment 72027
If the construction number 04XX indicates the 4th batch with grey radomes, then the new batch of white-radome J-16 should be the 5th?

J-16-rockets2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top