CHINA'S NEW J20 STEALTH OR NOT?

[Shultzie]

On the www.avweb.com today are photos of the new proposed China J-20 Stealth are is this just photo tweaking. and chest thumpin' 
Check out the THROW ON THAT VERTICAL FIN! WOW!

[proparc]

Looks like a cross between the Raptor and the F-35 JSF.

[dennis lipsett]

Looks like a cross between the Raptor and the F-35 JSF.

If the Chinese are making it they 'stealthed' ideas and technology from everyone.

[steven yampolsky]

If the Chinese are making it they 'stealthed' ideas and technology from everyone.

Nothing special about Chinese. US stole stealth technology from the Soviets during the cold war. Plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.

The idea was very well described by an MIT Professor of Mathematics Tom Lehrer:

[Paul Walker]

This appears to be the "real" thing.

They also appear to have problems making their own engines though.

Runor is that it's powered by a Russian powerplant.

Paul W

[Brett Buck]

Nothing special about Chinese. US stole stealth technology from the Soviets during the cold war.

  No they didn't. The elements of how to calculate the radar cross-section of an object was taken from a openly-published paper on the topic. It was hardly "stolen", it was freely available to anyone. It took the guys at the skunk works to realize its importance and what to use it for.

    Brett

[Tim Wescott]

On the www.avweb.com today are photos of the new proposed China J-20 Stealth are is this just photo tweaking. and chest thumpin' 

It "just happened" to be unveiled a week before Robert Gates's visit to China, so there's probably some chest thumping involved.

They did the test flights at some field that is very open to the view of the public, and is a popular spot for aviation fans and photographers to gather and take pictures, so it's probably not just photo tweaking.

I don't think they offered to do any flyovers of US radar equipment so that we could check out its radar profile, though.

[PJ Rowland]

There is a joke there about everythign being made in china but I cannot think to tell it... 

[Steve Fitton]

Nothing special about Chinese. US stole stealth technology from the Soviets during the cold war. Plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.

The idea was very well described by an MIT Professor of Mathematics Tom Lehrer:

I don't know how you worked that out.  TsAGI freely admits to having ripped off US technology to design the MiG-23 on through today's T-50 prototype.  Ivan had no clue about stealth, except in the Firefox movie....

Things could get interesting if the Chinese communists build a few thousand J-20s.  It will be even more interesting if their anti aircraft carrier ballistic missile works as advertised.

[proparc]

  No they didn't. The elements of how to calculate the radar cross-section of an object was taken from a openly-published paper on the topic. It was hardly "stolen", it was freely available to anyone. It took the guys at the skunk works to realize its importance and what to use it for.

    Brett

Correct a mundo. The cat was russian. Formed the basis for the "Have Blue" project. AND, the Germans were exploring it in WWII.

[Douglas Ames]

Check out the THROW ON THAT VERTICAL FIN! WOW!

I'm sure it's some form of a rudder/elevator.
Control surfaces are getting pretty outside-the-box nowadays...Whatever makes these new planforms turn.

[Brett Buck]

Correct a mundo. The cat was russian. Formed the basis for the "Have Blue" project. AND, the Germans were exploring it in WWII.

   Both sides had been interested in the problem since the invention of radar. There were even projects to make the U-2 less observable, and the A12/SR71 were shaped by guided cut-and-try for low cross-section. Ufimstev's paper was the basis of the ability to calculate the amount of reflection and it was developed by Denys Olberholser at the Skunk Works in to a working theory. It's all in Ben Rich's book.

   When they went to take a picture of the model of the first stealth airplane, it kept coming out out-of-focus. They were using an SX-70 and it's sonic autofocus signal  bounced off in the wrong direction!

   Brett

[Ted Fancher]

   When they went to take a picture of the model of the first stealth airplane, it kept coming out out-of-focus. They were using an SX-70 and it's sonic autofocus signal  bounced off in the wrong direction!

   Brett

Now that is "cool" stuff!

Ted

[Chuck Feldman]

I think this is a fake. A doctored up computer image. The Chinese do not need a stealth fighter, what use would if have for them? Besides they already own the USA they just need to foreclose.

[Chucky]

The Chinese have great need of such a machine to intimate their neighbors and bankrupt so-called super-powers like the US, and to sell such weapon systems to the rogue nations that hate us.

[steven yampolsky]

  No they didn't. The elements of how to calculate the radar cross-section of an object was taken from a openly-published paper on the topic. It was hardly "stolen", it was freely available to anyone. It took the guys at the skunk works to realize its importance and what to use it for.

    Brett

Actually, this is also half true. In those day, not a single soviet published scientific work was available outside of soviet research academia. In order to smuggle the book out of Soviet Union, diplomats at our Moscow embassy had to pay a reasearcher to bring them them book and then smuggle it via diplomatic mail. As you know, all US diplomats were shadowed by dedicated KGB team. Finding a researcher, cultivating a relationship and getting the book was quiet an accomplishment by the CIA.