Latest news with #J-36
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
China's J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet Photographed Head-On For First Time
New imagery of China's 'J-36' very heavy tactical 6th generation jet has just emerged out of China. The photos shows a long-awaited perspective of the aircraft — taken from the front — that confirms our analysis that the aircraft features a very large and broad bubble canopy to go atop its equally broad nose section. Under that canopy would be two crew sitting side-by-side, similar to the F-111 and Su-34's arrangement, among others. The image also offers a view of the dorsal inlet on the three-engined aircraft, along with its diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) 'hump,' which appears very large here. Overall, the photos serve as a reminder of just how big this aircraft is. Like many tailless designs, especially stealthy ones, they can look far smaller from the side than from the front, top or bottom. While we have become accustomed to the J-36's modified delta planform, the head-on perspective really underlines the proportions and mass of Chengdu's next-generation tactical jet design. In the imagery, we can also just make out the J-36's lower trapezoidal air inlets, similar to those found on the F-22, as well as one of the jet's unique large aperture electro-optical windows on the side of the nose. That fixture is seen glaring gold in the low-angle light. As is often the case, we must note that the imagery appears authentic, but we cannot be certain of that. Still, it was only a matter of time until we got a head-on angle of the J-36 and this screenshot of a DSLR camera screen (you can see the smart phone's lenses in the reflection) goes along with the progression of 'leaks' out of China we have come accustomed to over many years when it comes to new military aircraft designs. Very interesting but strange frontal view of the CAC J-36, which due to the 'merging' of the top air intake, DSI bump and the wide cockpit makes it look even wider … — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 31, 2025 Çin'in Kuyruksuz Savaş Uçağı J-36'nın son test uçuşuna ait görüntüler ortaya çıktı — Times of Defence (@timesofdefencee) May 31, 2025 This new imagery also comes just days after we got the clearest look at Shenyang's smaller, but still heavy-weight 6th generation fighter aircraft, referred to unofficially by a number of designations, including J-XDS and J-50. Not only do we get a more detailed underside view, but we also get a full side-on shot, which shows just how blended the canopy of the aircraft is with its upper fuselage, as well as a better look at the profile of its huge nose. The bottom view gives us a better look at the weapons bay arrangement, as well as its F-22-like nozzle configuration. We can also confirm an EO/IR blister (without its glass) under the nose. The aircraft looks to feature a single pilot/crew. The small side doors where a side weapons bay would likely go remain a bit of a mystery. The aircraft's unique swiveling wingtip control surfaces are also very clear here. Once again, the profile of the nose is striking, and it clearly can accommodate a very large and powerful AESA radar. You can read our very in-depth analysis on these two aircraft, including the knowns and the unknowns surrounding them, which still proves entirely accurate, at this link. Both aircraft were 'unofficially unveiled' via a series of videos and images spilling out of the country of presumably their first test flights back on December 26th, 2024. As we have stated since they first appeared, by summer we will likely have a look at all angles of both aircraft, and in increasing definition, based on how the flow of images of new high-profile military aircraft have historically appeared out of China. So stay tuned for more. Contact the author: Tyler@
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
The race to build the fighter planes of the future
'THERE'S NEVER been anything even close to it—from speed to manoeuverability…to payload,' gushed Donald Trump, as he announced on March 21st that America's future fighter jet, the F-47, would be built by Boeing, an aerospace giant. The jet is one of several so-called sixth-generation aircraft on drawing boards around the world. In December China showed off what was believed to be a prototype of the J-36, an imposing plane with stealthy features and a large flying-wing design. Britain, Italy and Japan are co-developing their own plane, in Britain provisionally called the Tempest, which is due to enter service in 2035. France, Germany and Spain hope that their Future Combat Air System (FCAS) will be ready by 2040. Together, these represent the future of aerial warfare. Fighter jets tend to be categorised by their age, features and sophistication. The first generation appeared in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of those in NATO service today, like America's ubiquitous F-16, are fourth-generation ones, built from the 1970s to the 1990s. The latest fifth-generation planes, such as the F-35 and F-22, the latter perhaps the leading fighter jet in operation today, tend to enjoy stealth, the capacity for sustained supersonic flight and advanced computer systems. One shift they all predict is more, and better, surface-to-air missile systems, a lesson reinforced by the strong performance of air-defences in Ukraine. That requires more stealth to keep planes hidden from enemy radar. Stealth, in turn, requires smooth surfaces—bombs and missiles cannot hang off the wing, but must be tucked away inside a larger body. Keeping their distance A second shift is in the increasing range of air combat. For the past 40 years, the proportion of air-to-air kills that occur 'beyond visual range' has grown steadily—from a tiny fraction of all in the 1970s to more than half between 1990 and 2002. Since then air-to-air missiles have been able to travel ever farther. Europe's Meteor, with a 200km range, was at the forefront of technology when it was first tested a decade ago. America's AIM-174B and China's PL-17 can now hit things 400km away. That means planes need better sensors to spot and fire at targets from farther away; they also need better electronic warfare equipment to parry incoming threats. These technologies require more space to generate power and remove all the heat that electronics tend to produce. Finally, planes are especially vulnerable to long-range missiles when they are on the ground. That means they need to fly from more distant airfields, requiring larger fuel tanks and less drag for more efficient flight. The huge wings seen on the Tempest and the J-36 allow for both those things, notes Bill Sweetman, an aviation expert. Range is a particular concern for America. Its airbases in Japan are within reach of vast numbers of Chinese ballistic missiles. It plans to disperse its planes more widely in wartime and to fly them from more distant runways, such as those in Australia and on Pacific islands. Long-range planes are appealing for several reasons. 'We're talking about really extreme ranges,' notes Group Captain Bill, the Royal Air Force (RAF) officer in charge of thinking through how the service will use the Tempest, speaking recently (without his surname) on the 'Team Tempest' podcast, which is produced by the consortium building the aircraft. The plane will need to be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a single tank of fuel, he says, a journey that would require today's Typhoon jet to be refuelled three or four times. One reason for that might be that big refuelling tankers, which once sat safely to the rear of the front line, are increasingly vulnerable to new air-to-air missiles, like China's PL-17. Another is that the Tempest could then take circuitous routes, avoiding Russian air defences along the obvious paths. Put all this together and you get planes that look like old-fashioned bombers. Mr Sweetman compares the hulking J-36, with massive wings and cavernous weapon bays, to an 'airborne cruiser', optimised for range, stealth and carrying capacity over dogfighting agility. The single most important requirement for the Tempest is the ability to carry a lot of weapons, says Group Captain Bill, noting that it will have roughly double the payload of the beefiest F-35. That makes sense: if you can deliver more firepower per sortie, you can destroy a target with fewer risky flights into enemy airspace. 'The same answers tend to pop up for all,' says Mike Pryce, who has advised Britain's defence ministry on combat air design. 'Stand off, don't be seen, shoot first, don't get into a knife fight.' As the planes get bigger, their insides are also evolving into what are essentially 'flying supercomputers', says Roberto Cingolani, the CEO of Leonardo, an Italian company that is developing the wider Tempest programme along with Britain's BAE Systems and Japan's Mitsubishi. Leonardo says that the Tempest will be able to 'suck up' a medium-sized city's worth of data in one second, according to Tim Robinson of the Royal Aeronautical Society. That could include anything from radio traffic to the emissions of air-defence radars. The point is to share that data with friendly forces, including tanks and ships, says Mr Cingolani, perhaps via satellite, with a 'central artificial intelligence' making decisions—presumably which targets should be attacked, by what, and when. Some might suggest 'that's science fiction,' he says. 'No, that's a vision.' Flying together Perhaps the most contentious design choice is whether sixth-generation planes should have pilots. Elon Musk, Mr Trump's aide, recently mocked the fact that 'Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets.' In practice, most air forces believe that artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy are not yet mature enough to allow a computer to replace a human pilot entirely; that will take until 2040, reckons the RAF. Images of the F-47, though unreliable guides to the final product, depict 'a relatively large bubble canopy', notes Thomas Newdick of the War Zone, a website, 'providing the pilot with excellent vision'. Some missions are particularly sensitive: France will use the FCAS to deliver nuclear weapons, a task that may always remain a human prerogative. Nevertheless, the prevailing idea is that sixth-generation planes will be the core of a larger 'combat air system', in which a human in the cockpit controls a larger fleet of uncrewed drones, known, in American parlance, as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). 'The concept is that you have an aircraft-carrier that is flying,' says Mr Cingolani. 'It's an entire fleet that moves in the sky and makes decisions.' The human in the cockpit is best described not as a pilot, says Group Captain Bill, but as a 'weapons system officer', the RAF's term for someone managing sensors and weaponry. On May 1st America's air force announced that it had begun ground testing its two CCA prototypes in advance of flight tests later this year. Current order numbers suggest that each F-47 will get two CCAs. The drones might scout ahead, spot targets or carry weapons themselves—all within line-of-sight and under 'tight control', notes Frank Kendall, a former air-force secretary. Much of the intensive computing required to carry out these tasks will need to take place on board the crewed mothership, with relevant data shared to all craft instantaneously, says Mr Cingolani, speaking in the context of the Tempest. He emphasises that the communication links have to be secure. 'I'm not sure in ten years we can make it.' If he and his company can pull it off, it will cost a pretty penny. Mr Kendall, in the Biden administration, paused the development of the F-47 in large part because it was expected to cost twice as much as the F-35—perhaps as much as $160m-180m apiece—which would mean the government could afford only a small fleet of 200 or so planes. Many in the Pentagon wanted a greater emphasis on building CCAs to complement the existing fleet of F-35s, rather than pouring money into a new platform that might not turn up until long after a war with China. In Britain, Justin Bronk, an air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute, expresses similar concerns, drawing an analogy with the experimental versus war-winning weapons of the second world war. 'Pouring all the money that defence can spare…into a programme that, in the best case, will not deliver a fully operational capability before 2040 feels to me like the UK concentrating all Air Ministry resources on Avro Vulcan development in 1936,' he says, citing a plane that did not appear until a decade after the war was over, 'rather than Hurricanes, Spitfires, Blenheims, Whitleys and Wellingtons.' Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sixth-gen fighter could block airspace 1,000km from Chinese shore, military article says
In a future conflict over Taiwan, Beijing's sixth-generation fighter could block the airspace to foreign bases in Guam for up to two hours from 1,000km away, according to a mainland Chinese military magazine. Advertisement The goal involving the next-gen fighter was created in view of People's Liberation Army weaknesses against the American B-21 stealth bomber in a conflict within the first island chain, it said. The ginkgo leaf-shaped fighter is unofficially dubbed the J-36 and is in development by the PLA. According to the article in Shipborne Weapons, a publication owned by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, when the sixth-generation fighter is in service, the PLA will be able to intercept US warplanes trying to penetrate the first island chain. It said it would also be possible to conduct airspace blockades lasting one to two hours and to suppress the air defence of bases in Guam from a distance. 01:09 New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military 'This will make it difficult for the US Navy and Air Force to maintain air superiority over the western Pacific and to intervene militarily in a series of operations by the Chinese military within the first island chain,' the analysis in the magazine's March edition said. Should they ever engage in a war over Taiwan, the mainland Chinese and US air forces would most likely focus on fighting for control of the airspace about 1,000km (621 miles) from the Chinese coast, the article said. In recent weeks, the Chinese stealth aircraft under development has been spotted repeatedly undergoing test flights near the base of its developer, the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation, suggesting it is making rapid progress. Advertisement In March, the US also announced its sixth-generation fighter, the F-47, but has revealed little further detail. However, the B-21 Raider – described as the world's first sixth-generation bomber by its developer Northrop Grumman – had its maiden flight in November 2023. The firm declared that production was 'ahead of schedule and on budget' and that it aimed to deliver at least 100 aircraft to the air force in the mid-2020s.
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sixth-gen fighter could block airspace 1,000km from Chinese shore: military article
In a future conflict over Taiwan, Beijing's sixth-generation fighter could block the airspace to foreign bases in Guam for up to two hours from 1,000km away, according to a mainland Chinese military magazine. Advertisement The goal involving the next-gen fighter was created in view of People's Liberation Army weaknesses against the American B-21 stealth bomber in a conflict within the first island chain, it said. The ginkgo leaf-shaped fighter is unofficially dubbed the J-36 and is in development by the PLA. According to the article in Shipborne Weapons, a publication owned by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, when China's sixth-generation fighter is in service, the PLA could not only intercept United States' warplanes from penetrating the first island chain, but also conduct airspace blockades lasting one to two hours and suppress the air defence of bases in Guam from a distance. 01:09 New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military New Chinese fighter jet seen over Chengdu tacitly confirmed by military 'This will make it difficult for the US Navy and Air Force to maintain air superiority over the western Pacific and to intervene militarily in a series of operations by the Chinese military within the first island chain,' the Chinese magazine wrote in an analysis in the March edition. Should they ever engage in a war over Taiwan, the mainland Chinese and US air forces would most likely focus on the fighting for control of the airspace about 1,000km (621 miles) from the Chinese coast, the article said. In recent weeks, the Chinese stealth aircraft under development has been spotted repeatedly undergoing flight tests near the base of its developer, the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation, suggesting it is making rapid progress in its development. Advertisement In March, the US also announced its sixth-generation fighter, the F-47, but has revealed little further detail. However, the B-21 Raider – described as the world's first sixth-generation bomber by its developer Northrop Grumman – had its maiden flight in November 2023. The firm declared that production was 'ahead of schedule and on budget' and that it aimed to deliver at least 100 aircraft to the air force in the mid-2020s.
South China Morning Post
25-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trump's ‘anxious' tariff remark, Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental makeover: SCMP's 7 highlights
We have selected seven stories from this week's news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing The designers of China's J-36 stealth fighter are working on a computer system that will help pilots achieve the difficult and dangerous manoeuvre of landing a sixth-generation jet on a moving aircraft carrier, according to a research paper. The White House's latest signs of easing its position on tariffs against China do not indicate a notable advancement in US-China trade talks, but may present Beijing an opportunity to get a better deal, economists said. Illustration: Henry Wong As the United States continues to tighten restrictions on chip exports to China in a bid to curb the country's access to advanced semiconductors, Chinese researchers have gone into overdrive.
