 "China’s J-36 spotted in Sichuan: What we learned about tailless, triple-engine fighter")
New images of China’s stealth fighter have caused a stir around the world.
Video of the plane, dubbed the J-36 by experts and analysts, went viral on Chinese social media on Monday.
It is thought to be China’s attempt at a sixth-generation fighter plane.
It is a three-engine, tailless flying wing aircraft.
It had its first test flight in December.
But what do the new images of the J-36 reveal?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know?
As per The Aviationist, the video shows the J-36 flying over a Chinese urban highway.
The jet is making its last approach for landing at the Chengdu Airframe Plant near the city center in Sichuan province.
The footage was filmed from inside a car.
As per Yahoo.com, it shows the jet getting ready to touch down on a runway.
The J-36’s heavy-duty landing gear, which has twin wheels on each unit, is deployed.
Its large twin split ruddervons – which are working as stabilising airbrakes – are also visible.
The cockpit seems to be streamlined with the top mould line of the forward fuselage.
This visual, taken with the J-36’s wide nose, suggests that the pilot and co-pilot are sitting side by side – with the single pilot’s helmet or ejection seat headrest being visible.
It also seems to go against what many predicted would be a two-seat configuration.
It is also possible that the cockpit will hold a single pilot.
The J-36’s the dorsal engine air intake with its seeming diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design, a prominent hump and forward-raked upper area are also visible.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe exhausts for its three engines were also captured.
Military aviation expert David Cenciotti, a former Italian Air Force officer, wrote, “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.”
The jet also seems equipped with some splinter-type camouflage scheme, with lighter-looking panels around the dorsal intake and aft.
China-US battle over sixth-gen fighters
China and the US are currently in a battle over sixth-generation jet fighters.
Each of them is vying to be the first to field a sixth-generation craft.
Trump has announced that the US has tasked Boeing with making its sixth-generation fighter jet – which he has dubbed the F-47.
“They will have unprecedented power,” Trump said. “America’s enemies will never see [them] coming.”
Trump, incidentally, is the 47th President of the United States.
But he insists that’s a coincidence.
“The generals picked a title, and it’s a beautiful number,” Trump was quoted as saying in the Oval Office. “Nothing in the world comes even close to it.”
Trump has called it the ‘most lethal aircraft ever built.’
He has claimed a test version of the plane had been flying in secret for years.
“There’s never been anything even close to it, from speed to manoeuverability, to what it can have, to payload,” Trump said.
“Our allies are calling constantly,” Trump added.
The plane is officially called the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).
America’s F-35 and F-22 fighters – both fifth-generation planes – are currently considered top of the foodchain.
The F-35 is widely recognised as the king of the skies.
Each plane costs between $80 million and $115 million.
The lifetime service cost of a single F-35 can exceed $1 trillion.
They are both manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
As per CNN, China is also working on a fighter jet dubbed the J-XX or the J-50.
The People’s Liberation Army has not acknowledged the existence of either fighter.
“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 by Global Times.
With inputs from agencies
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