Latest news with #J-50
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Navy's new fighter jet threatened by funding dispute, sources say
By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy and Congress are battling with the Trump administration to keep moving forward with a contract award to build the Navy's next-generation fighter jet, according three people with knowledge of the matter. At the heart of the conflict is the F/A-XX program, intended to replace the Navy's aging Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet with a new carrier-based stealth fighter to be fielded in the 2030s. The Navy had been expected to announce a winner as early as March in a deal that could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the winner over its lifetime, but a funding dispute threatens to derail that timeline. While the Navy wants to move forward with awarding a contract, some Pentagon officials are seeking to delay the program by up to three years, the people said, citing concerns about engineering and production capacity. In March, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a contract to make F-47 fighter jets, its version of a 6th generation stealth fighter to replace the 5th generation F-22. The Air Force has said it planned to buy more than 185 of the planes. Boeing and Northrop Grumman remain in competition for the Navy contract, while Reuters reported in March that Lockheed Martin had been eliminated from the contest. A three-year delay for the Navy would effectively cancel the program as it is currently defined, the people said, because contracts and pricing would expire during that time making a new competition almost inevitable. The Navy declined to comment. A Pentagon spokesperson said it did "not comment on internal communications and pre-decisional or deliberative information." The fight over F/A-XX funding highlights broader questions about the future of naval aviation and the role of aircraft carriers in confronting China. Delaying the program could leave the Navy without a modern fighter capable of operating from carriers in the 2030s and beyond, potentially undermining the fleet's ability to project power in contested environments. China has already made test flights of advanced J-50 and J-36 fighters that it calls 6th generation - the same jet a forward deployed U.S. Navy would encounter. "America can't do much with its aircraft carriers in 30 years if it doesn't invest in a next-generation fighter for the Navy," said a U.S. official. "Faster decision-making, extended operational reach, integration with autonomous systems, and maximum lethality are key to the future of air combat, especially in the Indo-Pacific," the official added. The official and the other people declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. PENTAGON REVIEWS U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is making a push to revamp what the Pentagon buys and how it does so for items ranging from software to jets. Trump adviser Elon Musk has panned crewed fighter jets, calling them "obsolete" as the age of drone warfare dawns. But some defense experts say enemy jamming systems may best the autonomous vehicles, making a human crew necessary in warfare. The Navy currently has around 128 F/A-18 planes that have been in service since the mid-1990s. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's cost assessment office plans to slash funding for the next-generation jet's development by shifting the $454 million that Congress provided for the F/A-XX in the fiscal year 2025 budget to other programs, according to two industry executives and a congressional aide familiar with the matter. The Pentagon is separately preparing to ask Congress not to provide $500 million for the program which it had included in a pending reconciliation bill to help to accelerate the new jet's development, the three sources said. The two separate funding reductions and the potential for a three-year delay to the contract award have not been reported previously. These moves have sparked pushback from the Navy and key members of Congress. Lawmakers are telling the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense: "Don't you dare do this," an industry executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. The Pentagon could still alter course on these efforts and adopt Congress' funding guidance, the congressional aide said.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
New Views Of China's Next Generation Fighters
Flight testing of China's two new next-generation fighter designs is continuing apace and offering new insights into both aircraft. The latest imagery of the larger of the two designs, commonly — but unofficially — called the J-36, offers the clearest look to date at the exhausts for its three engines and a new angle into its possible two-seat cockpit. Additional views of the second type, referred to variously as the J-XDS and J-50, show the interesting bay configuration on the side of the fuselage immediately behind the air intake and highlight other distinctive features like its swiveling wingtip control surfaces. TWZ has previously published a highly detailed analysis of both the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50, which readers can find here. There are no clear indications that the latest pictures and videos of the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50 have been fabricated, but this remains a possibility, albeit a very small one. Versions of some pictures of the aircraft that have been deliberately enhanced using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to try to glean more details are known to be circulating online. Many phone cameras now produce images that are similarly 'smoothed' by default, as well. The newest views of the J-36 in a video and associated still images, seen in the social media posts below, which are said to have been shot in the city of Chengdu. The Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, which has its main plant there, is responsible for the aircraft. Finally got my hands on this video! Crystal-clear footage of Chengdu's 6th-generation fighter jet soaring over Chengdu Airport. Absolutely amazing! #Chengdu6thGenFighter# — GaoFrank (@gaofrank75) April 23, 2025 Wow! I hope this latest image of the J-36 is legit but usually @琴石2022 on Weibo is quite credible! — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 As noted, the new rear aspect view of the J-36 gives the clearest look we've seen at the engine exhausts for its trio of engines, which is already a highly unusual feature of the aircraft. As seen below, we can now see 'petals' extending out over the top of the exhaust trenches that sit inward of the aircraft's tailing edge. This only underscores TWZ's previous analysis about the J-36's exhaust configuration and its major similarities in form and function to that found on Northrop's YF-23. The YF-23 also notably featured an exotic intake design with boundary layer pores to help improve airflow, as you can learn more about here. As we have previously written about the J-36's exhaust arrangement in general: 'This is a clear low-observable play both for radar and infrared signature management. Recessing the engine exhaust before the aircraft's upper trailing edge is a classic low-observable design element that Northrop largely pioneered with Tacit Blue, B-2 Spirit, and YF-23. The ejected exhaust is spread out and has the potential to be actively cooled by this upper deck area. Above all else, this provides very limited line-of-sight to the engine exhausts themselves, which helps significantly in minimizing infrared signature, as well as radar cross-section, from most aspects.' The J-36 video also offers a new view into the aircraft's cockpit. Since the aircraft first emerged publicly, there has been speculation that it may have a two-seat cockpit with side-by-side seating. The imagery we have now is still inconclusive on this detail, but the possibility that two distinct heads-up displays may be visible has been raised by Andreas Rupprecht, a longtime Chinese military observer and contributor to this website. No, it clearly looks like two HUDs — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 Additional pictures and videos of the J-XDS/J-50 from the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation have also been circulating online in the past week or so. And the same one in cut-out form …(Images via @Captain小潇 on Weibo by OPPOFind 8) — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 Original image — John Jones (@nibelogn1996) April 17, 2025 Another set of images showing SAC's J-XDS prototype with its landing gear down and from the side … unfortunately still very small & blurry!(Images via @琴石2022 from Weibo) — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 A test flight of Shenyang's sixth-generation aircraft took place today. It is clearly visible that the aircraft's swiveling wingtips are rotating. — 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) April 23, 2025 As mentioned, most interestingly, a bay of some kind with a pronounced bulge at the front is now plainly visible on at least the right side of the fuselage behind the air intake. It is also positioned right in front of the main landing bay on that side of the aircraft. Whether or not the J-XDS/J-50's bay may be for weapons or intended to serve some other purpose is unknown. Questions have already been raised about whether there is enough internal space in this part of the aircraft to hold a relevant munition. It is worth noting here that China's J-20 stealth fighter has weapons bays in roughly the same location, which also have a novel configuration wherein the missiles inside pop out fully along with their launch rails before firing, as you can read more about here. We also have much clearer views of the J-XDS/J-50's unique swiveling wingtip control surfaces. TWZ has previously assessed that these wingtips most likely help provide additional stability for the tailless aircraft, and has explored the advantages and disadvantages of such a design decision in detail. No idea yet, but also interesting what looks like massive actuators … — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 Though any new details about the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50 continue to draw particular attention, they represent just a portion of significant military aviation development efforts known to be ongoing in China, as well as additional work assumed to be going on outside of the public eye. Also today, a satellite image available through Google Earth began circulating online showing a curious object with a stealth fighter-like appearance, including a modified diamond-like delta platform, canards, and twin vertical tails, on the apron in front of the passenger terminal at Jining Qufu Airport in Shandong Province in eastern China. Additional satellite imagery from Planet Labs that TWZ reviews shows that it has been there since at least September 2024. This is all doubly curious given that Jining Qufu Airport, which had been collocated with the People's Liberation Army Air Force's (PLAAF) Jining Air Base, was officially closed in December 2023. What the 'airframe' is unclear, but it seems very likely to be a mock-up of some kind. It shows some rough similarities, but also significant differences to the Baidi Type-B, also known as the 'White Emperor,' an entirely fictional 'space fighter' design that the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) displayed at the 2024 Zhuhai airshow. Comparisons have also already been drawn to vaguely J-20-esque 'shapes' that emerged at the remote Lintao Air Base in north-central China in 2022. However, the structure of the wings and the nose of the object at Jining are distinctly different from those previously seen at Lintao, which may also be mock-ups or decoys. A video is also now making the rounds on social media that has prompted questions about whether yet another new Chinese advanced military aircraft has emerged. What can be gleaned from the video is limited given how far away the aircraft is in the footage and its overall quality. Its provenance is also not immediately clear. What can be seen does not immediately appear to directly align with any known Chinese designs. Its overall shape also does not fit with a still-unidentified tailless fighter-like airframe that emerged at Shenyang's main plant in January, which TWZ was first to report on. China is reportedly testing a third platform in northern China, according to the latest visuals that have emerged on social aircraft appears to be different from the two previously known tailless designs currently undergoing is still too early to… — International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) April 23, 2025 Yes and as I noted here I'm confused … it is so much blurry. The best guess would be some sort of UAV/UCAV. We simply need to wait for more. — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 23, 2025 At the same time, it would hardly be the first time a new advanced Chinese aircraft design has emerged suddenly. The dramatic appearance of the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50 flying on December 26th last year, despite no imagery having previously emerged of either aircraft, is a prime example. Ongoing testing of the J-36 and J-XDS/J-50 is certainly continuing to reveal new details about those designs. We had previously predicted that reasonably high-resolution images of the two aircraft would emerge by early summer in line with the pattern of past Chinese rolling 'leaks.' If other advanced Chinese military aircraft are now flying or are otherwise progressing into the latter stages of development, additional details may well begin to emerge about them, as well. Contact the author: joe@
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Business Standard
21-04-2025
- Business Standard
China steps up testing of sixth-gen stealth fighters amid tensions with US
China appears to be accelerating test flights of its next-generation stealth aircraft, with new videos and images of two advanced fighter jets emerging on Chinese social media platforms in recent weeks, as reported by The South China Morning Post. The increased activity coincides with rising geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington. Unofficially referred to as the J-36 and J-50, the aircraft were spotted near the headquarters of their respective developers — Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAIC) in Sichuan and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) in Liaoning. The visuals were widely shared on platforms such as Weibo and Douyin. Footage reportedly filmed in early April shows the CAIC-developed J-36 conducting sharp aerial manoeuvres over Chengdu. The aircraft's distinctive ginkgo leaf-like wing shape, small trailing edge flaps, and delta configuration suggest a focus on extreme agility and advanced flight control. One video, allegedly shot by a motorist near the CAIC airfield, showed the jet flying at low altitude over a highway as it prepared to land, with its unique dorsal inlet and three exhaust nozzles clearly visible. Meanwhile, the SAC-developed J-50 reappeared in clearer detail in early April. A photo taken on April 4, followed by flight videos dated April 8 and 16, were posted online by aviation enthusiasts. These visuals captured the J-50's lambda wing platform, articulated wingtips, and side weapon bays. Observers also noted its refined diverterless supersonic inlet design, which blends smoothly with the aircraft's fuselage and enhances stealth. J-36, J-50 features Both jets feature tailless airframes, which are considered a hallmark of sixth-generation stealth fighters and contribute to radar evasion. The two aircraft were first seen in December 2023, but these recent visuals offer the clearest look yet at China's most advanced combat aircraft in development. While Chinese authorities have not officially confirmed the existence of either fighter, the repeated sightings and analysis by open-source intelligence communities suggest that China is making significant strides in military aviation. US pushes forward with sixth-gen fighter programme The developments come as the United States moves forward with its own sixth-generation fighter programmes, including the F-47 for the Air Force, which US President Donald Trump said has been undergoing secret testing for several years. On March 21, US President Trump awarded Boeing a contract to build what is expected to be the Air Force's most advanced fighter to date, an announcement that surprised many. However, details regarding its specifications, capabilities, and operational role remain under wraps, leaving many in the defence community speculating about its design and potential impact on modern warfare. The unveiling of the F-47 project is part of the broader US strategy to maintain a technological edge in the ongoing military aviation arms race.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Canopy Seen Clearly On China's Next Gen Tailless Stealth Fighter For First Time
China's next-generation tailless heavy fighter from the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation seemed to have taken a months-long hiatus between its first known flight and its second. Since then, it has been seen in the skies at an increasing rate. New images and video coming out of China show the jet – referred to unofficially by a number of designations, including J-XDS and J-50 – on another recent test sortie, with clearer shots of the enigmatic stealth fighter than ever before. This includes what appears to be our first real view of its cockpit canopy. The aircraft's canopy has been of particular interest since the plane first appeared to the public on December 26th, 2024. Up until now, no images have clearly shown it. The plane's broad nose, paired with the ground-based perspective of the photos, and their low quality, previously made only what may have been a part of a canopy visible in imagery. This led to the question of whether the heavy fighter-sized aircraft was crewed at all. J-XX/Shengad may have flown again today — 東風 (@eastwind6699) April 16, 2025 Our very in-depth analysis on this aircraft, and its larger tri-engined Chengdu Aircraft Corporation counterpart, came to the conclusion that the aircraft was almost certainly crewed. With this latest imagery, we can finally put that question to rest conclusively. One image shows a side-on view of the aircraft, providing a new perspective to analyze. Above all else, it depicts a very streamlined bubble canopy that blends closely with the upper fuselage. Canopies and cockpits can be a major hot spot for radar reflections. Minimizing their return is critical to the survivability of a low-observable crewed aircraft. In this case, for the same reasons that the canopy was so hard for us to see until now — it is difficult to view from lower aspects — also helps with keeping it out of line-of-sight of radar systems positioned below it. These can be on the surface or lower-flying aircraft. The service ceiling of the fighter is unknown, but it should be quite high in order to maximize its performance, as well as its sensor and weapons reach. It remains unknown if the jet has one or two crew. The canopy does look quite long, which could possibly accommodate a tandem crew layout. As it seems, we finally have a quite decent side shot of SAC's J-XDS from its flight today and also for the first time a clearer proof it has indeed a canopy. — @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) April 16, 2025 This side view also provides a bit better sense of scale and form of the new jet. Its diamond-shaped forward fuselage with a prominent chine line high up near the cockpit is also readily visible. The blister under the nose that could represent a faceted aperture for an electro-optical targeting and/or infrared search and track (IRST) system, similar to what's found on the J-20 and the U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is also visible. Another angle from the lower rear gives us a clearer view of the aircraft's exhausts. As expected, they are 2-D and likely thrust vectoring types, very similar to the U.S. F-22 Raptor's arrangement. This configuration would balance low observability, performance, agility, and especially stability, considering just how unstable a tailless tactical jet like this would be. China has been displaying its thrust vectoring engine concepts since at least 2022, with the one subscale model on the show floor at Zhuhai looking very similar to what we see in the latest imagery. We also see the unique swiveling wingtip control surfaces in action here, with the right side one highly deflected. Airshow China 2022: #China displays thrust vectoring engineshttps:// #airshowchina2022 #airshow #airdefence — Janes (@JanesINTEL) November 14, 2022 With each passing week, we are getting more and more detailed imagery of Shenyang's tailless stealth fighter, just as expected. If the flights continue, we should have a much better understanding of the aircraft's observable features by summer. Contact the author: Tyler@
CNN
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- CNN
New video of China's tailless, triple-engine fighter jet has military aviation community buzzing
New images have emerged of one of China's futuristic fighter jets, a three-engine, tailless flying wing aircraft that Western analysts have dubbed the J-36. It's unclear when the images, which are taken from a video, were shot, but they appeared on Chinese social media sites on Monday and show the aircraft flying over a highway near the runway of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, the factory in Sichuan province where the new jet is believed to have been made. Images of the J-36 first appeared on Chinese social media late last year, quickly capturing the attention of aircraft enthusiasts and military analysts. More appeared online last month. The jet is thought to be a sixth-generation aircraft, incorporating the latest stealth technology, avionics and powerplant and airframe engineering. Military aviation expert David Cenciotti, a former Italian Air Force officer, said on his website, The Aviationist, that the six-second video gives a close look at the design of the J-36. 'The trijet engine arrangement, with two engine intakes under the wings and a dorsally-mounted intake behind the cockpit, is a departure from conventional twin-engine setups seen in many contemporary fighters. This configuration may offer advantages in terms of thrust and redundancy,' Cenciotti wrote. He said space on the aircraft's belly shows room for internal weapons bays that could enable it to carry long-range strike missiles. The J-36 could see China pull even with, or possibly ahead of, the United States in the race to field a sixth-generation fighter. The US military's fifth-generation jets – the twin-engine F-22 and single-engine F-35 – are generally regarded as the world's best at the moment, though China also has two fifth-generation models, the J-20 and J-35. Neither of those Chinese jets has proven combat experience and effectiveness like the two US fighters, however. US President Donald Trump announced last month that a contract for the US Air Force's sixth-generation fighter – dubbed the F-47 – had been awarded to Boeing. Trump said a prototype of the jet had been flying for five years. But a US Air Force announcement of the Boeing contract for the F-47 did not give a timeline for when the jets would be deployable, saying only the contract awarded on March 21 covered 'the engineering and manufacturing development phase' as well as funds for 'a small number of test aircraft for evaluation.' While China's J-36 was dominating military aviation chatter this week, it's not the only sixth-generation jet that Beijing seems to have in the works. The same day that pictures emerged of the J-36 in December, photos were also posted of a new tailless, twin-engine jet, referred to by analysts as the J-XX and sometimes the J-50. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) hasn't publicly acknowledged the existence of either the J-36 or J-50. But the state-run tabloid Global Times last month ran a story quoting various Chinese military experts as saying the images of the two new aircraft 'if authentic,' show China is making quick progress on sixth-generation fighter jets. 'From a development point of view, China appears to be determined to make explorations on next-generation aviation equipment,' Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, was quoted as saying. It can take years for a fighter jet to go from concept to public introduction, let alone deployment. China's J-35 was first shown to the public at last November's Airshow China in Zuhai, but it had been in development for 10 or more years, according to analysts.
