NEWS TECHNOLOGY

China’s Latest Aircraft Take To Skies

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TAKING to the skies over Chengdu on December 26, a next-generation stealthy combat aircraft was spotted with another being sighted elsewhere. At around the same time frame, the country’s new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft was also spotted in the air.

Though no official releases or statements regarding the aircraft have been released, the new aircraft were reportedly manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group(CAC) and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation respectively. The manned CAC aircraft took its maiden flight on the day, with footage showing a blended double-delta shaped aircraft alongside a J-20S twin-seater chase plane.

It appeared to be powered by three engines, with large central internal weapons bay (IWB) with no vertical stabilisers. The aircraft was said to be dubbed the J-36, and appeared to be larger than the J-20S. It is speculated that the CAC airframe could be the 5th generation JH-XX regional bomber.

Later, Shenyang’s own aircraft, reportedly named the J-50 was seen airborne alongside a J-11 also manufactured by the company. This aircraft seemingly featured a lambda wing design, with two engines with uncertainty regarding it being manned or unmanned.

Next, the Xi’an Aircraft Company (XAC) AEW&C aircraft based on the Y-20 airframe, commonly referred to as the KJ-3000 also reportedly took its inaugural flight. The KJ-3000 is built on the Y-20B transporter’s frame with 360 degree coverage and detection range of 600-1000 kilometres for conventional targets. Furthermore, it is reportedly able to detect stealth aircraft such as the F-22 and F-35, tracking, capable of tracking 100 targets at a time. It was seen with a rotodome, integrating the full array of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems to serve as a command centre.

Traditionally, December 26 has been an important day in China, with the day being Mao Zedong’s birthday, Mao was the founder of the Communist Party of China and the People’s Republic of China. The first sighting of the J-20 was also around the same time almost 14 years ago.

The two aircraft from Chengdu and Shenyang is likely China’s equivalent to the US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:X)