China Flanker Thread II

[Tam]

Wow what a great close-up image of a SAC J-11D in flight showing clearly the "new" canted radome for the "new" AESA radar.

The question now is, how recent this image is?

(Image via @angadow from Weibo)


View attachment 66403

PS: I know, neither the radome nor the radar is NEW, this is most likely simply an old image only posted now, but at least to me that image is "new"

Hard to say new or old, only that I have never seen this particular picture before.

For other viewers, the point of canting is that it reduces RCS. When an opposing radar shines into the plane head on, the echo of the enemy radar would bounce off from the canted radar to an upward direction, denying the reflection to the opposing radar.





You can also have canted arrays within conventionally shaped radomes, but the advantage of using the angled radome is that the rim of the radome is also canted which further reduces any reflection towards the head on threat.

 

[Tirdent]

Eagles are superior in sustained turning rate across the envelope due to higher thrust to weight ratio. Sukhois are limited to 8g and actually have pretty poor performance at the transsonic regime until Su-35 fixed structural problems.

Not true according to the info I have. For starters, the flight manual gives a max. g-limit of 9g, though only at certain weights and speeds (but the same applies to other fighters, including the F-15). While in comparison the Eagle does fare remarkably well, considering its design vintage is 10 years older (it's no accident Sukhoi had to go back to the drawing board with the T-10), there is definitely no superiority across the board. It has higher T/W and lower wing loading, but at low speeds vortex lift from the LERX and in the supersonic regime relaxed stability hand the Su-27 the advantage. Even at transonic speed, where the F-15 has better sustained turn capability, the difference is modest.

 

[latenlazy]

Not true according to the info I have. For starters, the flight manual gives a max. g-limit of 9g, though only at certain weights and speeds (but the same applies to other fighters, including the F-15). While in comparison the Eagle does fare remarkably well, considering its design vintage is 10 years older (it's no accident Sukhoi had to go back to the drawing board with the T-10), there is definitely no superiority across the board. It has higher T/W and lower wing loading, but at low speeds vortex lift from the LERX and in the supersonic regime relaxed stability hand the Su-27 the advantage. Even at transonic speed, where the F-15 has better sustained turn capability, the difference is modest.

It’s all in how you use it...

 

[silentlurker]

For other viewers, the point of canting is that it reduces RCS. When an opposing radar shines into the plane head on, the echo of the enemy radar would bounce off from the canted radar to an upward direction, denying the reflection to the opposing radar.

Isn't the radar already covered by the nose cone? What's the point of angling the internals?

 

[Tam]

Isn't the radar already covered by the nose cone? What's the point of angling the internals?

The nose cone doesn't block all the radar, otherwise you can render the radar inside inoperative.

Radomes are made with a bandpass material. They are designed to block all wavelength, except for the bandwidth the radar inside uses. However, the opposing radar might also be operating within the same bandwidth. Fighter radars are all in the X-band.

 

[Atomicfrog]

The nose cone doesn't block all the radar, otherwise you can render the radar inside inoperative.

Radomes are made with a bandpass material. They are designed to block all wavelength, except for the bandwidth the radar inside uses. However, the opposing radar might also be operating within the same bandwidth. Fighter radars are all in the X-band.

Could they cover most of the non receiving/emitting parts of the radar and structure with ram in the radome? (Not the nose cone...but the rest) I would like to see the internal of the J-20 compared to J-11d!

 

[Tirdent]

Could they cover most of the non receiving/emitting parts of the radar and structure with ram in the radome? (Not the nose cone...but the rest) I would like to see the internal of the J-20 compared to J-11d!

That is precisely how it's done. The bandpass radome means you only have to account for in-band (i.e. same frequency as your own radar) threats though, which greatly simplifies the required treatments that would otherwise need wideband coverage.

Still, there would be a major contribution from a vertical radar antenna (which cannot be coated), so it is angled to minimize its inevitable RCS.

 

[backwindow]

They are slowly upgrading them, but it’s a questionable investment in my view given their age and limited remaining airframe hours. Which the PLAAF is doing a great job helping them use up BTW.

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They are going to cancel the budget for the first 20 planned upgrade next year.

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[sequ]

Planar array on J-10A vs twist cassegrain on Su-30MK2, not to mention superior user interface in the case of the former.

Don't the later batches of the MKK and MK2 versions use the slotted planar array, Zhuk-MS(E) radar which is also much larger ( and more powerful I think) than the J-10A's slotted planar radar? And the cockpit has all full color MFD's as opposed to the J-10A's 1 color and 2 monochrome MFD's.

I guess we can't say for sure if the J-10A is superior to the Su-30MKK(2). It is superior to the Su-27SK/UBK though.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Don't the later batches of the MKK and MK2 versions use the slotted planar array, Zhuk-MS(E) radar which is also much larger ( and more powerful I think) than the J-10A's slotted planar radar? And the cockpit has all full color MFD's as opposed to the J-10A's 1 color and 2 monochrome MFD's.

I guess we can't say for sure if the J-10A is superior to the Su-30MKK(2). It is superior to the Su-27SK/UBK though.

No variant of Su-30 uses slotted array, not even ones used in Russia. Later variants of Su-30s went straight from Twist Cassegrain to PESA.