Chengdu J-20

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Chengdu J-20
J-20 at Airshow China 2016.jpg
Type: Fighter plane
Design country:

China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China

Manufacturer:

Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group

First flight:

January 11, 2011

Commissioning:

March 9, 2017

Number of pieces:

50 (2019)

The Chengdu J-20 ( Chinese : 歼 -20; Pinyin : Jiān-Èrlíng) is a fighter aircraft from Chengdu (CAC) that is being built for the Air Force of the People's Republic of China as part of the J-XX program . This is about the first known aircraft of Chinese production, about stealth properties (Engl. Stealth ) has. The aircraft completed its eighteen-minute maiden flight on January 11, 2011 and entered service on March 9, 2017.

description

The J-20 probably goes back to the requirements of the J-XX program (name of Western intelligence services for the development program, the official name is not known), which was initiated by the Chinese armed forces in the late 1990s to produce a stealth fighter aircraft develop.

At the end of 2009, reports were made that a mock-up was being built , and two prototypes were built from May 2010. The development is led by the project directors Yang Wei and Zhang Jigao.

The first pictures of the J-20 came to the public when on December 22, 2010 taxiing tests with the prototype (registration number 2001 ) were carried out on the factory premises in Chengdu. In the pictures you can see that the J-20 is a delta wing with canards . The surfaces of the double vertical stabilizer are clearly angled outwards, the diamond-shaped air inlets lie on the bow and are designed as Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) . With the FC-1 , CAC has already manufactured an aircraft with DSI, so that it was able to draw on its own practical experience in this area. The aircraft will most likely be powered by Russian engines from the Saturn AL-31 family. The second prototype (registration number 2002 ) may be powered by Shenyang Liming WS-10A or WS-10G engines, which can be seen from modified nozzles. The WS-15 is to be used in the series machines. At the same time, changes to the radome showed that an AESA radar might have been installed. Based on the pictures available, the total length of the machine was initially estimated at around 23 m and the span at at least 15 m. This would have made the J-20 unusually large for a fighter aircraft. In fact, the machine is 20.40 m long and has a wingspan of 13.50 m. The height is approximately 4.45 m.

The basic appearance of the J-20 is very similar to that of the MiG 1.44 , the relationship is particularly clear in the rear view. It is possible that RAC MiG made development aid here as early as the 1990s in the development of the FC-1 . Correspondences with the MiG 1.44 can be seen in the entire rear fuselage, the tail units and false keels arranged far out , the delta canard configuration and the dimensions. However, the company denies any cooperation with China. In contrast, the highly inclined vertical and horizontal stabilizers, designed as pendulum rudders , are more similar to those of the Suchoi Su-57 . The bow, cockpit section and the arrangement of the air inlets were obviously based on the F-22 .

J-20 with the weapon bay open at the Zhuhai Air Show in November 2018

The armament is carried internally, with the short-range PL-10 missile in the side weapon bays and up to four medium-range PL-12 C / D or PL-21 missiles in the main bays .

In November 2013, the first blurry photos of the third prototype (license plate 2011 ) appeared. Later pictures from January 2014 clearly showed changes compared to the first two copies. The shape of the air inlets was changed, the edges of the stern control surfaces were beveled and the cockpit hood, the shape of the stern section and the landing gear flaps were also changed. The most important visible change is the installation of a different head-up display and an optical system under the bow.

On July 26, 2014, the fourth known prototype (registration number 2012 ) took off on its maiden flight. It shows many of the changes first seen on the third prototype. Two more prototypes followed with the 2013 registration on November 29, 2014 and the sixth machine with the 2015 registration on December 19, 2014. At the end of 2015 / beginning of 2016, the prototypes with the 2016 and 2017 registration were seen.

Production of the pilot series began in January 2016 . The first machine received the registration number 2106 .

On November 1, 2016, two planes flew in a sixty-second flyby at the opening of the air show in Zhuhai , Guandong . Four J-20s were demonstrated in flight at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2018. The main weapon bay was opened, in which four radar-guided air-to-air medium-range guided weapons were housed. An infrared-controlled short-range guided weapon PL-10 was deployed from each of the two side weapon bays.

Political importance

The J-20's maiden flight took place during a visit to China by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates . Observers interpreted this as a clear signal to the USA, which the Chinese President Hu denied by saying that the date of the first flight had long been fixed and had nothing to do with Gates' visit. The development of a long-range fighter / fighter-bomber with stealth capabilities, which is likely to be equipped with AESA radar and air-to-sea stand-off weapons, has been interpreted by analysts as a threat to the American fleet presence in the Western Pacific.

Andrew Scobell of the Rand Corporation said civil-military cooperation in the People's Republic of China could be tense. Whether the country's political leadership was aware of the test from the outset and whether the flight was intended as a signal to the United States cannot be conclusively clarified. Nonetheless, according to Scobell, US security policy is affected by all four scenarios that result from affirming or negating these two aspects.

Names

All names published so far are not official; the designation J-20 is also not secured. Surnames that have become known to date, such as Black Ribbon or Black Eagle, are without exception speculation.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view of the Chengdu J-20
Parameter Data
crew 1
length 20.40 m
span 13.50 m
Wing area 78.00 m²
height 4.45 m
Empty mass 19,391 kg
normal takeoff mass 32.093 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 36,288 kg
Fuel capacity 11,340 kg (internal)

19,340 kg (with four external 2400 l fuel tanks)

Top speed Mach 1.7
Engines 2 × Shenyang WS-10G (prototype)

2 × Saturn AL-31F-M2 (prototype)
2 × Xian WS-15 (series)

thrust (WS-10G) with afterburner: 2 × 153 kN

(AL-31F-M2) with afterburner: 2 × 145 kN
(WS-15) with afterburner: 2 × 160 kN

Web links

Commons : Chengdu J-20  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-behind-on-production-of-advanced-j20-fighter-jet-2020-1
  2. ↑ a b c Taken off: China's new fighter plane. fliegerweb.com, January 12, 2011, accessed on January 19, 2011 : "J-20 is not yet an official name"
  3. ↑ Chinese "J-20" stealth fighter takes off in Chengdu for its first flight. Flugrevue, January 11, 2011, accessed on April 19, 2017 : "There are allegedly two machines (ID 2000 and 2001)"
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Greber: China celebrates the maiden flight of the stealth jet J-20. Die Presse, January 11, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b Provocation: China is testing a new fighter jet. (Flash-Video) Spiegel Online, January 11, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b Air International April 2014, ISSN  0306-5634 , China's Mighty Dragon, pp. 40-45.
  7. ↑ FliegerRevue June 2011, pp. 28–29, China's mighty dragon
  8. ↑ a b c d e Martin Rosenkranz: The new claws of the Chinese dragon. China “leaks” images of a new stealth aircraft into the world. www.airpower.at, January 11, 2011, accessed on April 19, 2017 : “In the course of the conversation, the aircraft was referred to as the J-20, but whether this may be considered an official statement and a future designation remains in the dark. "
  9. ↑ Stealth Hunter shows his weapon bays . in: FliegerRevue, October 2011, p. 8
  10. ^ A b Bill Sweetman: J-20 Stealth Fighter Design Balances Speed ​​And Agility. In: aviationweek.com. October 10, 2014, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Richard D Fisher Jr: fourth J-20 prototype made first flight on July 26th. Jane's 360, July 29, 2014, archived from the original on August 3, 2014 ; accessed on August 5, 2014 .
  12. ↑ Latest HD Photos of Newest J-20 Prototypes Nos. 2016, 201. In: tiananmenstremendousachievements.wordpress.com. January 2, 2016, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Chengdu J-20 to be Operational 2018: Plus Latest Prototypes - Soldier of Fortune Magazine. In: sofmag.com. September 25, 2016, archived from the original on November 3, 2016 ; accessed on April 19, 2017 (English).
  14. ↑ China unveils J-20 stealth jet fighter in show of military might , in: The Guardian , November 1, 2016, accessed April 19, 2017
  15. ↑ China's stealth fighters show off missile payload
  16. ↑ Till Fähnders: China is testing stealth aircraft. faz.net, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Markus Becker: China's stealth fighter jet takes off. Spiegel Online, January 11, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  18. ↑ China is said to have built its first stealth fighter jet. Zeit Online, January 5, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Andrew Scobell: The J-20 episode and Civil-Military Relations in China . (PDF; 200 kB) rand.org, March 10, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017.
  20. ↑ Shirong Chen: China conducts first test flight of stealth plane. BBC News, January 11, 2011, accessed April 19, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Asian fighter planes take off . ( Memento from January 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: Financial Times Deutschland , January 2, 2011
Fighters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army


FC-1  • J-5  • J-6  • J-7  • J-8  • J-9  • J-10  • J-11  • J-12  • J-13  • J-15  • J-16  • J- 20  • J-31