120 million dollars. That’s what it costs according to Eurasian Times every Chinese fifth-generation fighter. Its about Chengdu J-20 “Mighty Dragon”a combat aircraft whose characteristics would give it a place in a club made up of heavyweights such as the American Lockheed F-22 and F-35 and the Russian Sukhoi Su-7.
The project, whose research and development cost is estimated at $4.4 billion, is part of the ambitious military update plan of the Asian giant closely scrutinized by Washington. Beijing wants to have a “world class” defense system by the middle of this decade, an ambitious goal that it intends to achieve little by little, but with firm steps.
Strengthening the Air Force with fifth-generation fighters
An elementary piece of the plan that Xi Jinping has laid out is to modernize the Air Force of the People’s Liberation Army. And, precisely, the Chengdu J-20 has the mission of defend the country from the air and carry out precision attacks by evading enemy detection systems thanks to its advanced weaponry and stealth capabilities.
As is the case with almost all modern military projects, some of their qualities are kept secret, while those that are known may not be as brilliant as their manufacturers claim. Or, on the contrary, they could also be superior to try to mislead the enemy. In any case, it is worth digging into what is known about the J-20. Let’s see.
The origins of the Chinese fighter go back to the late 1990s, a period of time when the J-XX program emerged to create a fifth generation combat aircraft. Development began already in the new millennium, it made its first flight in 2011, was officially presented in 2016 and entered service a year later, according to the South China Morning Post.
The original model has a length of 21.2 meters, a wingspan of 13.01 meters and a height of 4.69 meters. The maximum takeoff weight is set at 37,000 kilograms and can give a range of 5,500 kilometers if two additional fuel tanks are added.
According to Military Watch Magazinethe J-20’s propulsion system is comprised of two Chinese-produced Shenyang WS-10C afterburning afterburning engines that allow you to fly at Mach 2.0. Although, it should be noted, that early models were equipped with Saturn AL-31F engines developed by Lyulka in Soviet times.
The evolution of the J-20, according to the Chinese army, does not stop. Development of two variants is already underway. one of them is based on a two-seat design that will allow a second operator to carry out control and early warning missions. You will also be able to coordinate attacks from unmanned aerial vehicles that accompany the fighter.
The other variant is expected to use an upgraded version of the Shenyang engines dubbed the WS-10 TVC. This would have the capacity thrust cectorizationthat is, the combustion chamber would move to manipulate the direction and achieve a greater margin of maneuverability.
As is known, all variants are equipped by a cockpit equipped with a primary LCD touch screen, which is accompanied by three additional smaller screens and a holographic head-up display. The pilot will also have a helmet-mounted display system known as an HMD that displays important information for combat scenarios.
As for the weapons, as we can see in the images, all the pieces in this section are protected inside the central bay, a crucial point so as not to harm the design that allows you to achieve your stealth ability. It can transport up to 11,000 kilos of weapons of different types.
According to ainonline, the fighter can carry and launch PL-10 short-range (20 kilometers), PL-12 medium-range (100 kilometers) and PL-15 long-range (200 kilometers) missiles. The much longer range PL-21 missiles and LS-6 50 and 60 kilogram precision guided bombs are expected to be deployed in the future.
It is unknown how many fifth-generation fighters China has at the moment, but military aviation expert Andreas Rupprecht, quoted in a Defense News article, says the country could have at least 200 units of the J-20. Serial numbers painted on the plane’s fuselage would have allowed Rupprecht to know that approximate number.
Images: People’s Liberation Army | Emperornie (one Y 2)
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