Posted on 12/25/2010 10:10:46 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Chinese fighter of nominally the same technology generation as the Lockheed Martin F-22 will soon enter flight testing, while a jet airlifter larger than the Airbus A400M should be unveiled by year-end.
Beijings fighter announcement suggests a serious failing in U.S. intelligence assessments, mocking a July 16 statement of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that China would have no fifth-generation fighters by 2020. Industrial competition looks more remote than strategic competition, however, since China will want to fill domestic requirements before offering the aircraft abroad, even if it judges export sales to be a wise policy.
The new fighter is currently under development, says Gen. He Weirong, deputy air force chief. [It] may soon undertake its first flight, quickly enter flight testing and then quickly equip the forces.
According to the current situation, [the entry into service] may take another eight to 10 years, he adds.
No details of the aircraft were given, but it is almost certainly designed for supersonic cruise without afterburning. In April, Adm. Wu Shengli, the navy chief, listed supercruising fighters among equipment that his service needed. Notably, all the other equipment on his wish list looked quite achievable by the end of the next decade, matching the timing that the air force now suggests for the fighter.
China classifies aircraft of the F-22s technology level as fourth-generation fighters, although they are called fifth-generation aircraft in the West. Chinas current advanced fighter, the J-10, is locally called a third-generation aircraft, which in Chinese terms means that it is comparable with the Lockheed Martin F-16.
(Excerpt) Read more at aviationweek.com ...
does it run on fortune cookies?
I sense a chink in the Chinese armor. Whoops, can I say that?
Don’t worry. The reds will steal whatever information they need, from greedy workers, communist sympathizers, or from their implanted agents.
Then the White House will tell us there is “no threat from the left”.
All in favor of firing squads for traitors, raise your hands!
That statement right there tells you the article is BS...and it's the first line.
it’s not just the equipment .. it’s the men
that’s why everyone comes to the US for fighter training
and, other than the Israeli’s (who match us in equipment development and training) we outshine all other air forces in performance
With fighter aircraft becoming less susceptible to radar and infrared guided missiles old fashioned close range dog fighting will again be the norm. I hope our esteemed politicians dont eliminate the Navy and Air Force advanced fighter schools like the Navys Top Gun course as a cost cutting measure.
The Air Force came to realize that pilots who survived their first ten missions over North Vietnam would in all likeliness survive their entire tour and come home alive. Red flag was instituted to give new combat pilots their first ten mission's worth of experience here before they would be sent into harm's way. It has been said by pilots coming home from actual combat that Red Flag was much tougher.
I was trying to remember Red Flag but drew a blank. Again, I hope it isnt eliminated to save money but I dont have much faith in the smarts of our politicians.
I think there should be a 5th Generation pilot with the 5th generation pilot. Graph a silicon computer chip to the brain and a wire connected to the flight computer. This would give more time for a “lock on” in mere seconds. The pilots would return to their barracks to “dream” of dogfights and increasing their skills.
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