Posted on 12/14/2002 1:02:41 PM PST by vannrox
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Chinese stealth fighter plans revealed |
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16:32 11 December 02 | |||
Will Knight |
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China has begun developing a stealth fighter aircraft, according to a defence industry report published on Wednesday.
The stealth technology planned for the plane has not been revealed but one expert suggests the aircraft will be considerably less sophisticated than the latest US stealth aircraft.
The plane is in early stages of development with engineers considering a number of different potential designs, according to the report in the Jane's Defence Weekly.
Development of the fighter's engines and weapons systems has begun at the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in northeast China, the report says, quoting an unnamed senior source at the China Aviation Industry Company.
Photographs obtained by the magazine show a model of a twin-engine aircraft comparable in design to the US F/A 22 fighter. The fighter has angular features, similar in shape to the US F-117A Nighthawk stealth bomber. This helps prevent aircraft being detected by radar.
Craig Hoyle, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, says other features, including the vehicle's coating, can contribute to stealth. But he adds that China's military aircraft development programme has often relied on adapting proven technology.
He also notes that the Russian military claims to have developed technology that can detect stealth aircraft. "If they are building something based on a technology the US developed 20 years ago, there may already be something out there that can detect it," Hoyle told New Scientist.
The US is currently working on a more advanced stealth aircraft than the Nighthawk. In October 2002, Boeing revealed a bat-winged stealth jet called the Bird of Prey. This is rumoured to have advanced stealth features such as adaptive camouflage, but no details have been disclosed.
Dubbed the J-X, the new Chinese aircraft would extend China's fighter plane range. China has developed another fighter known as the J-10, which is comparable to the US F-16, although this has not been officially unveiled. |
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16:32 11 December 02 | |||
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© Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
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You betcha thanks to Clintoon! I will bet this is the reason Gore went to China and got money for the pitiful DNC and added to Billory's swiss bank account; in exchange for the final disks for Red China's new stealth that combined with their technology will make ours look like relics.
Dumb ole Gore probably got his very own swiss bank account- for this mission in exchange for his silence and to NOT run for Prez.
It's still been left to Dubya to export to them the manufacturing technology to actually build a stealth fighter. But that's near the top of the list of Robert Zoellick's priorities.
F-117A Nighthawk
It doesn't look very stealty to me.
How about expanding on this....
What they'll do is come up with the classic UFO disc; that way, even though people can see it and it shows up on radar, nobody official will dare admit it's there.
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