Russian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

siegecrossbow said:

Nice image of frontal view. Is this a DSI inlet or not? Bump is not apparent from the front and there appears to be a divider, which is odd because the aircraft only has one engine.

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Definitely a DSI, the bump isn't as obvious as on the J-20 or F-35 due to the curved surface it is blended into (more like the J-10B/C). Possibly the virtual shock cone the flow field of which was streamline-traced to get the bump surface contour was also positioned further "inside" the airframe? This might be a consequence of the proximity of the inlet aperture to the nose shock (the very first DSI on the XF8U-3 was similarly positioned and had an even more subtle bump, dito X-32).

I'm also entertaining the possibility that it's really two side-by-side DSIs merged together, but that would be quite a risky design.

Equation said:

Perhaps that divider was meant for structural stability of the inlet?

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Like the strut in the intake of the F-16? Could be. The divider appears to get narrower further into the duct, which seems counter-intuitive if the purpose was to split the duct around the nose landing gear well and/or the centre line weapons bay.

Abominable said:

As others have said, it's likely the $25-30m is likely a basic stripped down price, adding on extras would put the price more in line with expectations.

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lacking you know unnecessary bits like engines, radar, Ejection seats, stealth coatings, displays, flight controls. Otherwise everything you might need…

TerraN_EmpirE said:

lacking you know unnecessary bits like engines, radar, Ejection seats, stealth coatings, displays, flight controls. Otherwise everything you might need…

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haha, good they learnt from Lockmart marketting

siegecrossbow said:

Nice image of frontal view. Is this a DSI inlet or not? Bump is not apparent from the front and there appears to be a divider, which is odd because the aircraft only has one engine.

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It is not a divider, it is probably mostly for support like F-16.

View from up front (cropped pic).
I'm disappointed that it isn't the "Mig 41". That was such a good looking concept. But anyways...

foxmulder said:

It is not a divider, it is probably mostly for support like F-16.

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I realized why there is a need for the support: it is not a true belly intake but a hybrid between belly and side intakes. Notice how the intake of J-10B/C is integrated with the belly fuselage while that of the Checkmate connects with the ventral aspect. If there is no additional support it would be structurally weak.

I wonder how stealthy this is? Maybe due to $30m price, it will be on the low-end?
From the scaled model it has:
- 2 piece canopy
- Ball IRST
- The panels appear to not be serrated, just look at the nosecone
- Exposed screws on the wings

Which affects stealth if I'm not mistaken. Then again - it is a non-flying model and should be subject to change.

What do you guys think?

Xsizor said:

I'm disappointed that it isn't the "Mig 41". That was such a good looking concept. But anyways...

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By "Mig-41" they typically refer to PAK DP, not to the angular mig-21.
That program (new heavy interceptor) is very much alive, as far as we know.

KampfAlwin said:

I wonder how stealthy this is? Maybe due to $30m price, it will be on the low-end?
From the scaled model it has:
- 2 piece canopy
- Ball IRST
- The panels appear to not be serrated, just look at the nosecone
- Exposed screws on the wings

Which affects stealth if I'm not mistaken. Then again - it is a non-flying model and should be subject to change.

What do you guys think?

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There seems to be a high degree of component commonality with the Su-57. The cockpit canopy, IRST, and vertical slabs seem to be direct transplants from the Su-57.

KampfAlwin said:

I wonder how stealthy this is? Maybe due to $30m price, it will be on the low-end?
From the scaled model it has:
- 2 piece canopy
- Ball IRST
- The panels appear to not be serrated, just look at the nosecone
- Exposed screws on the wings

Which affects stealth if I'm not mistaken. Then again - it is a non-flying model and should be subject to change.

What do you guys think?

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Stealth or LO on order. If at all there is such a thing. This aircraft is pitched to nations who want a fighter jet to be competitive against highly LO fighters and stays within their budget.

I think they will offer advanced stealth treatment and features on order. This is supposed to be a barebones version then. Although I understand things aren't as simple as Car wrapping
(wrapping a stealth cover fabric on the fighter) - it should atleast show some sort of enhanced upgradeability and tuning regarding sensors.

Serrated panels could be included if a customer nation demands them - ofcourse extra rubles needed.