Get ahead of the US? The Chinese test flights are stirring up the aviation world

On Mao Zedong’s birthday on December 26th, China conducted the first test flights of what appear to be the sixth generation J-36 and J-50 aircraft. These flights may indicate that China will be the first country to become operational with an aircraft with capabilities that until not many years ago would have been seen as futuristic. According to Deutsche Bank, China’s “modernization efforts” have cost the F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin in downgrading the stock.

The advance of the US, European powers and Russia, who are at an earlier stage in the race to develop the sixth generation aircraft, will be a significant technological achievement for Beijing. According to estimates, the aircraft will include improved stealth capabilities that will make it harder for existing radars, an improved radar that will allow detection of threats at distances large, its activity will include integration with unmanned aircraft that will allow the pilot to conduct observation, defense and attack missions at the same time, And artificial intelligence will be embedded in it that will allow to quickly process information on a huge scale from the systems of the plane, UAVs and satellites.

The “Army Reconnaissance” website states that one of the significant features that the Chinese are expected to incorporate into the sixth generation aircraft is the use of hypersonic threats. Those missiles are a combination of capabilities between a ballistic missile that flies at hypersonic speed (more than Mach 5 – 1,500 meters per second), and a cruise missile that moves slowly, but is capable of maneuvering. The hypersonic threat is not a ballistic missile, but it rises like one. It also does not reach ballistic height, but enters an airspace of 30 to 70 km – while flying at an extremely high speed of 15-20 thousand meters per second.

It will probably be difficult for interception systems to deal with the hypersonic missile due to its high speed, as well as due to the route it takes which makes it difficult to predict where the threat will arrive and where it will dive. Estimates today hold that although the Chinese, Russians and Iranians claim to have “hypersonic threats”, the missiles they possess have hypersonic elements – but not the full range of features.

The speed of the plane cannot be ignored. Some analyzes predict that the J-36 is powered by a three-engine system and besides the efficiency of fuel use and the structure of the plane – it may reach a speed of Mach 2.5 (about 3,087 km/h). All this, when it turns out that the Chinese engineers created a plane without a tail, in order to improve its capabilities Stealth and aerodynamics The fifth generation American F-35 is a leading attack aircraft in the world and its maximum speed Mach 1.6 (about 1,976 km/h).

What is the price of the plane?

As reflected by this maiden flight, China is investing huge sums in the field of security. According to the estimate of the British Institute for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), the Chinese defense budget stands at 541 billion dollars, equal to about 59% of the American investment. As part of the study, it was found that China’s defense industry is more dependent on manpower than its counterpart in the US, but it is already in the midst of a modernization process. The ultimate goal in the air, at sea and on land is to make China a world military power by the centenary celebrations of the establishment of the People’s Republic in 2049 .

An interesting issue is that Beijing did not present the maiden flight as part of a statement of achievement. These were residents of the city of Chengdu in central China, who recorded and published videos on social networks of the plane that apparently took off from a CAC facility. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese Aerospace Industry, which already produces the fifth generation J-35 aircraft. Being an unprecedented prototype, the J-36 does not have a “price tag”, but the J-35 already does.

According to the estimate of the “Janes” news agency, the price of the J-35 is 70 million dollars. The price of an F-35 manufactured by Lockheed Martin operated by the Israeli Air Force is about 80 million dollars per unit. The price of Boeing’s advanced F-15EX Eagle II, for example, is about 90-97 million dollars per unit. The question marks regarding the J-36 deal with the physical attributes of the plane. Estimates speak of a length of 22-26 meters, and a wingspan of about 20 meters. According to some reports, the plane may even include a cockpit for two pilots who sit next to each other.

The “Diplomat” magazine reports that the plane is long enough to carry a PL-17 missile, which is designed to hit targets at a range of up to 400 km. The result is that the maximum take-off weight may be about 55 tons. For comparison, the maximum take-off weight of the F-35 is About 31 tons.

Deutsche Bank is worried

The second sixth generation aircraft is the J-50. Its significant feature is the integration of technologies for the purpose of reducing radar signatures, in an attempt to increase the stealth capabilities of the aircraft. Among other things, the fuselage includes angles designed to interfere with the return of radar waves, and the wings allow maneuvering at high speeds.

The nose of the plane may indicate an advanced generation radar. The same system could help the J-50 detect threats at long ranges. Regarding attacks, the J-50 apparently carries armaments in the fuselage, to optimize its stealth.

The presentation of the planes led Deutsche Bank to downgrade the shares of Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer, from “sell” to “hold”, due to “the modernization efforts of Chinese fighter jets”. F-35s, according to “Barron’s”, are a source of about a quarter of Lockheed Martin’s sales. “We are downgrading Lockheed to ‘hold’ due to increasing concern about long-term support for the F-35,” the German bank’s economists wrote.