Chinese fighter 5 -th generation J-20
China, constantly scaring the United States and a number of other states with its growing military force, may have made a technological breakthrough by creating a promising 5 generation fighter. In January 2011g. in China, the first demonstration prototype aircraft of the 5 fighter generation, known by the symbol J-20, built and built at the 132 aircraft factory in Chengdu (Sichuan province), debuted with triumph, under the direct supervision of the main aircraft designer Yang Wei and piloted by Li Gan, PLAC Air Force Test Pilot.
Commenting on the first flight, the global journalistic community claims that the plane demonstrated in Chengdu is just a not very successful “collage” assembled from various structural elements of the experimental Russian Su-47 and MIG 1.44 aircraft, as well as 5 F-th Fighters -22 and F-35, created in the USA. Of course, this eclectic monster has no military significance, even the smallest one, and can only be used as propaganda for the dubious achievements of science and technology of the PRC.
At the same time, in spite of such negative reviews in the press, it is necessary to recognize that, contrary to popular belief, Chinese aircraft designers as complete “lags” and “in life - plagiarists”, they were among the first to create a prototype after the USA and Russia 5 generation combat aircraft that meets all the requirements of the XXI century. Among other countries with a developed aircraft industry, only Japan, India and South Korea pose a similar task. In Europe, the fighters of the new 5 generation still generally prefer to keep quiet, concentrating on improving the 4 + air technology - the Gripen, Rafale and Typhoon aircraft.
Creating the J-20 concept is truly a step forward for Chinese aircraft designers who for half a century have managed to make the way from students of Russian colleagues to real professionals, world-class specialists who have learned to create unique designs of combat aircraft that combine the latest global achievements of military science and technology. . This, of course, can and should be proud of.
But, paying tribute to the Chinese triumph, one should really relate them to the level reached by the United States and Russia, which are still the undisputed leaders of world aircraft construction in the military sphere. Here it is necessary to say that from the moment of the creation of a demonstration sample before the start of mass production a rather long period of time passes. As an example, you can call history The creation of the Lockheed YF-22 aircraft, which was first demonstrated in 1990, but the optimized production version, known as the Raptor, appeared only in 2005, after 15 years after the first flight of the demonstrator.
According to reports of the internal Chinese press referring to “informed sources” in the defense industry and the PLA, the transfer to the PLA Air Force of the first copies of the 5 generation fighters is expected already “in 2018-2019.” However, given the international experience, as well as the inherent slowness of the Chinese “aviation industry,” these statements seem too optimistic. Perhaps, in this case we are talking about the so-called “mobilization” terms practiced since the pre-war times in the USSR and adopted by the neighboring Chinese comrades, which were initially not real, but forced the performers to work with full dedication without allowing themselves to relax.
According to more measured estimates of the Pentagon, voiced by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Chinese "stealth" will reach operational combat status only by the middle of the 2020-s, after about 15 years since the first flight of the fighter-demonstrator. And this period, taking into account a certain amount of optimism, can be considered the most realistic.
Despite the wide opportunity that the Chinese authorities provided to all comers, no official statements about the appointment of the new aircraft and its main technical and combat characteristics have appeared. However, numerous experts and simply amateurs of the military are trying to compensate for this gap with some success. aviation.
The aircraft is a type of monoplane with a high-lying deltoid wing of increased area, fully rotatable vertical and front horizontal two-tail plumage. It can be concluded that the front (nose) part and the understated cockpit-free lantern are designed like the American F-22, the PGO layout resembles the Russian C-37 “Berkut”, air intakes with thickenings characteristic of the F-35, keels are very similar in shape to the F -35, but at the same time all-turning, like T-50, the tail part is similar to the MiG 1.44. Along the edges of the air intakes, there may be compartments for short-range air combat guided missiles, under the center section there may well be two internal compartments for armament complexes or one large size to accommodate long-range guided missiles, anti-ship missiles. The cusps of the main chassis, which have already been called “stupid”, look somewhat awkward.
On the pages of print media and on the Internet there is an opinion that the main task of J-20 is to combat major sea targets. This is due to the fact that the American multi-purpose aircraft carrier compounds represent the main threat to the territory of China. The only problem is that the complex, which will be based on the J-20, is of little use for dealing with perfectly protected aircraft carriers.
As a carrier of small tactical anti-ship missiles (ASM), the J-20 strike group is also practically harmless for a huge aircraft carrier group. To make sure of this, it is necessary simply to conduct a comparative analysis between the range of launching light tactical anti-ship anti-ship missiles, which are in service with China, and the reach of the current or future versions of the American shipboard Ajis air defense missile system. Also, do not forget that the predicted placement of operational guidance stations on deck helicopters will significantly increase the effectiveness of Ajis in confrontation and with unobtrusive targets. The anti-ship missiles with warheads themselves, which have a mass of about 150-250 kilograms, even in the case of the “magic overcoming” by them of anti-missile defense barriers set up by defense ships and the aircraft carrier itself, can hardly cause significant damage to the 100000-ton sea giant equipped with a powerful complex of constructive protection.
The program to create a new fighter 5-th generation today is not the only driver of the reform of the aviation industry, which is held in China. Among such thrusters is the program to develop its own 100-local passenger aircraft RJ21. There are a number of other projects that may not be in demand for 100% by regional aviation industry associations due to a wide profile of their own specialization. It is also assumed that the research institutes remaining under the auspices of the CAE will be transformed into a completely new state structure, which among Chinese experts has already received the Chinese NASA symbol. Obviously, this designation is not only an imitation of the American style of management of the national aviation industry, but also something more.
Information sources:
http://www.aex.ru/docs/3/2011/8/2/1382/
http://www.liveguns.ru/news/kitai_samolet_5go_pokoleniya
http://www.inoforum.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=57154
Information