Posted on 01/21/2011 9:18:43 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
American intelligence believes that the tech behind the new Chinese J-20 stealth aircraft came from Russia. So far, not a lot of protests from Russia. This might indicate that MiG sold some tech to the Chinese, and didn't issue a press release. Of the four stealth fighters than have been built and flown so far (U.S. F-22 and F-35, Russian T-50 and I.42), it was noted that the J-20 looks most like the I.42, a MiG project that was cancelled in 1997. The rear portion of the J-20 is particularly similar to the MiG I.42. MiG has been having financial problems for over a decade, and was eventually bailed out by the Russian government, and absorbed into the new Russian Aircraft Corporation. Before that, it would have been tempting for a MiG executive to pass plans for the cancelled I.42 to the Chinese in exchange for a large amount of cash deposited in a Swiss bank account, or to simply do a legit deal, with government approval.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
They say that taxis well, but it's never been videotaped flying in the air.
I suspect China is involved in a little psy-op campaign to show they have stealth capability.
This article is just flat wrong. Nope, the Russians and Chinese are competitors and are constantly squabbling about commissions owed the Russians when the Chinese reverse engineered several Russian engines and sold the replicas.
Most of the videos posted only show taxi runs, but the one posted below appears to show a takeoff at about the 3 minutes and 50 seconds mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWhssJVlui8
Nope, they're not worried about the J-20. But in order for China to get to an aircraft that the Air Force would be worried about, this is the first step.
The US didn't go from the Wright Flyer to the F-22 in a single step.
Forward fuselage and air inlets look similar to an F-35. I don’t see how those inlets will support the airflow needs of each engine whereas on the f-35 two similar configuration inlets support the need of one powerplant.
Not a problem if China goes with a blank check to the Russians. The Russians were pissed because China bought only a few and then copy.
“The top brass in the Air Force said they’re not worried about the J-20”
They should. Even if ours is a much better one, any fight will happen near China, and if they launch 2000 airplanes in the air ours will be running out of missiles in no time.
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.