yes.
during Zhuhai Air show 2022. they have confirmed about 100 percent localization in Military aviation industry include aviation software
WS-15 is a game changer engine. advance variant coming too
J-20 5th Generation Fighter VII
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during Zhuhai Air show 2022. they have confirmed about 100 percent localization in Military aviation industry include aviation software
WS-15 is a game changer engine. advance variant coming too
J-20 versus J-20A would end up being "two track" in the sense that they are significant different variants, and their capabilities and upgradability will be different.
Comparisons with other programs is probably better not made.
For example we know J-20 was designed to have software more easily upgraded and indicators are there that early batch J-20s have already been able to do so. In that sense, baseline J-20s may be argued to already more easily upgradeable than older fighters of past generations.
But upgradability is all relative, for example if J-20A and/or 6th gen are exponentially more easy to upgrade in multiple ways than baseline J-20s, then even though baseline J-20s have a competent ease to be upgraded, the relative difference between J-20A and baseline J-20s may still be huge.
So the answer, as is usual, is that we don't know yet.
Waiting for the dust to settle a bit and hopefully for a clear picture of WS-15 ideally.
FriedRiceNSpice
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You can put in a request with Blitzo lol
Yankee and Shilao did a video last night on the new J-20A, covering lots of the same ground as Yankee's article but had also some new info on J-20 and WS-15 development history:
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One amusing thing that Yankee revealed was there were multiple engine plans for J-20 maiden flight, including a plan to pick out 2 of the best engines out of hundreds of WS-10 produced (ala how they use to pick the best out of 1000 bolt action rifles in WW2 for mounting scopes to turn into dedicated sniper rifle) at that point and fit them to the J-20 prototype so that it could be claimed it was both a domestic fighter and domestic engines. It was quickly concluded while this would be possible it wouldn't make sense because you can't get the same quality engines for the other prototypes and LRIP planes.
Member only:
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One amusing thing that Yankee revealed was there were multiple engine plans for J-20 maiden flight, including a plan to pick out 2 of the best engines out of hundreds of WS-10 produced (ala how they use to pick the best out of 1000 bolt action rifles in WW2 for mounting scopes to turn into dedicated sniper rifle) at that point and fit them to the J-20 prototype so that it could be claimed it was both a domestic fighter and domestic engines. It was quickly concluded while this would be possible it wouldn't make sense because you can't get the same quality engines for the other prototypes and LRIP planes.
Thanks, could you provide some more info about what was talked about?
It's 2+ hours and very information dense...
One thing that stuck with me was Yankee saying even though J-8 was a domestic designed plane it's still very much in the Soviet mind frame. Even if designers are aware of western aircraft design standards they don't grok it when designing and just continue to go with what they are familiar with. What really made a big impression was this event:
Designers were like wow, that's a really robust plane. No Soviet plane can survive that sort of damage and come back, we're going to want that.
France actually was of great help in helping China to adapt to western aircraft designing standards when Dassault sold some software to China, they were very good and some of which are still in use even today.
The other big event that helped China was the AWAC deal with Israel. Although the deal eventually fell through due to US pressure a lot of western aircraft design knowledge was gained in the process.
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If anyone else wants to chip in, feel free!
Alright more things that first come to mind about the video:
One aspect of J-20's "westerness" in design philosophy is where as previous planes tend to be more or less set in stone between variants, J-20's life cycle has the manufacturer and PLAAF operate in much closer coordination and the builders are constantly noting down feedback from the air force and making small improvements. Although to us the engine change from Al-31 to WS-10 to WS-15 is the most obvious, that's like US aircraft blocks that are big updates that incorporate all the small improvements up to that point. After a while sufficient improvements are made to the aircraft that when different J-20 units train together/against each other and at end of the day they have a peak at each other's aircraft the early adapters will go "oh nuts, your aircraft is way newer and better than my, I'm jealous".
Another thing they note is that when they were kids one question they would ask was "where is our YF-# or X-# aircrafts?" They didn't exist because China couldn't afford it and each new aircraft to be designed had to be for a very specific reason. Where as US with lots of money/manpower/time could afford to invest in building one-off experimental aircrafts to toy with ideas they have so that when it comes time to pick a idea to settle on they already have many to choose from.
J-20 is the first case in China where this is happening, specifically this aircraft:
Is basically YJ-20. This plane did not originate from PLAAF order with all the time pressure it carries and is instead CAC getting the money and permission to play with their ideas on how to build a newer and better J-20. And this was worthwhile because when PLAAF then went to them to say "well WS-15 is nearly ready, we want a new J-20 with it and with all the improvements you've made so far packaged as standard out of the factory" CAC can just say "oh look here, we've already done half of the work you asked, how forward thinking are we?" Without having the learning from building the twin seat J-20A would not have progress as quickly as it did.
One aspect of J-20's "westerness" in design philosophy is where as previous planes tend to be more or less set in stone between variants, J-20's life cycle has the manufacturer and PLAAF operate in much closer coordination and the builders are constantly noting down feedback from the air force and making small improvements. Although to us the engine change from Al-31 to WS-10 to WS-15 is the most obvious, that's like US aircraft blocks that are big updates that incorporate all the small improvements up to that point. After a while sufficient improvements are made to the aircraft that when different J-20 units train together/against each other and at end of the day they have a peak at each other's aircraft the early adapters will go "oh nuts, your aircraft is way newer and better than my, I'm jealous".
Another thing they note is that when they were kids one question they would ask was "where is our YF-# or X-# aircrafts?" They didn't exist because China couldn't afford it and each new aircraft to be designed had to be for a very specific reason. Where as US with lots of money/manpower/time could afford to invest in building one-off experimental aircrafts to toy with ideas they have so that when it comes time to pick a idea to settle on they already have many to choose from.
J-20 is the first case in China where this is happening, specifically this aircraft:
Is basically YJ-20. This plane did not originate from PLAAF order with all the time pressure it carries and is instead CAC getting the money and permission to play with their ideas on how to build a newer and better J-20. And this was worthwhile because when PLAAF then went to them to say "well WS-15 is nearly ready, we want a new J-20 with it and with all the improvements you've made so far packaged as standard out of the factory" CAC can just say "oh look here, we've already done half of the work you asked, how forward thinking are we?" Without having the learning from building the twin seat J-20A would not have progress as quickly as it did.
is this referring to the time an Israeli F-15 landed on a single wing in 1983?
Yes that one.
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