Posted on 04/04/2018 9:22:51 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
China's Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter jet may be getting an engine upgrade that will increase its maneuverability and make it harder to detect on radar.
Defense News reports that a photo of a J-10C in an unknown Chinese defense magazine features an engine that appears to be equipped with a thrust vectoring nozzle. The engine also appears to have sawtooth edges, according to Defense News, and the bottom part of the compartment that houses the fighter's drogue parachute removed.
The new nozzle will enable the J-10 to be capable of thrust vectoring, sometimes referred to as thrust vector control or TVC. TVC happens when the engine itself is directed in different directions, directly manipulating the thrust generated from the engine.
This gives the pilot greater control of altitude and angular velocity, and enables the aircraft to make better turns substantially increasing maneuverability. The new nozzle suggests that the Chinese have made gains in their attempts to add TVC technology to fighter jets.
But increased maneuverability is not the only thing that the engine provides. The sawtooth edges around the nozzle are similar to those used by other stealth aircraft like the F-35 and F-22. Russia's Sukhoi Su-30/35 Flanker series of fighters also utilize the same edges.
The J-10C is actually an improved version of the J-10. It features enhanced 4th generation electronics like an active electronically scanned array radar, and also has a diverterless supersonic inlet, an air intake system that diverts boundary layer airflow away from the aircraft's engine lowering its radar cross section.
The J-10 itself is rumored to be a Chinese copy of the American F-16.
In the 1990s, Israel was hoping to make its own domestic fighter jet that could compete on the international market.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.in ...
Might be a good little plane. But I don’t see a lot of stealth there in those canards.
. . . or that massive ventral air intake.
But, they keep fiddling..............
easy meat
Latter day relative of Guadalcanal’s Washing Machine Charlie.
Looks like a single engine version of the Eurofighter Typhoon. I am sure that is not a coincidence.
Looks more like a Eurofighter than an F-16.
It is a copy of the Israeli Lavi.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.