Important points and summit: China’s newly revealed J-36 stealth aircraft has caused debate. Is it a fighter or a bomber?
-Deltawing, tailless design, unique 3 engine configuration, J-36 is challenging conventional classification.
-The aircraft can be both air -to -air and air -to -ground missions, and seem to be optimized for high -speed and high altitude operations.
-If you succeed, the J-36 may function as a Chinese answer to the US B-21 Raider and the next-generation air rule (NGAD) fighter.
-However, there are questions about whether you can balance the true abilities and whether you can balance speed, stealth, and demand in which firepower competing. Is the J-36 reconstructed or an exaggerated experiment?
J-36 Stealth Fighter: China’s answer to US air control?
Last December, images and video clips appeared online on two new stealth aircraft currently tested by Chinese troops. One of these two jets looks like a lamb dading twin engine aircraft that has not deviated from modern stealth fighters with twin engine configurations, despite the exotic appearance. Masu. And the overall size along a small tactical aircraft. But the other was different.
This aircraft, called the J-36 in the media report, has a unique three-engine configuration, unlike the currently in use, which is larger than any of the Chinese work aircraft, probably the most notable of the deltawing design. 。 。 In fact, the abnormal propulsion layout, sturdy landing device, and a large overall size, so many people argue that this new aircraft is not a fighter, but instead “region” or “region” or medium -range bombing. Machinery -A claim that China has such a bomber in aggressive development under the designated “JH -XX”.
However, the debate on whether this new aircraft is a fighter or bomber supports the latent roles of heavy stealth fighters in the Pacific and moderate stealth bomber, and the outdated semantics since the use case. I miss the target.
Death of fighter, bomber, and “attack” aircraft
In conventional terms, the difference between fighters and bombers is severe. The fighter is designed to intercept and destroy other aircraft (or air threats), but bombers are properly defined as an aircraft that means dropping bombs on the ground target.
Through most of the history of aviation, these very different mission sets require a very different overall design, and bombers prioritize the range and payload over aerobic performance, and fighters are air -to -air combat. He praised the maneuverability (and finally saving energy). Avionics, on -board systems, and weapons are also special, and bombers carry equipment to enable accurate targeting of structures on the ground, often use induced gravitational bombs, and onboard radar. I use a system like this to target enemy aircraft with guns first. And ultimately, there are more and more complicated and competent air -to -air missiles.
Fighters and bombers have been operating for a long time along with some other classifications of fighters, including attack aircraft specializing in the involvement of surface targets in a shorter range. Ta. However, over time, the advancement of the technology will increase the number of functions in smaller aircraft, so the design of a single roll aircraft will soon be new. “I started giving way to the aircraft.
The F/A-18 Hornet, which first launched the U.S. Navy in 1983 and the U.S. Navy in 1984, actually has both F (for fighters) and A (for attack). It emphasizes the terminal multi -roll function. In the Gulf War in 1991, Hornet became the first aircraft in history, shifting from “attack” to “fighter” mode with only switch flip, attracting air targets, returning to attack mode, and intended mode. Just continue. mission. Today, all modern 4th generation and fifth -generation fighters are expected to do the same, and as a result, the prefix of the attack is an increasingly extinction crisis. 。
As the fighter gained more abilities in the role of this “attack”, they immediately began to invade the once established bomber territory. Just four years after the Navy started the Hornet operation, the Air Force introduced the new “Multiro Roll Strike Fighter” F-15E Strikesle. Strikinguigles, built on an incredibly competent F-15 Eagle aircraft, are not only one of the most capable fighters in the sky, but also many World War II bombers. We also provided embarrassing battle performance in the air.
Chinese J-36 fighter. Image credit: X -screenshot.
For this reason, some people may even call platforms such as strikingle “fighters/bombers” because they have a blurred line during their roles.
To compare another Stark, we can look at the B-17 Flying Fortress. This was classified as a heavy bomber when entering the service in 1938. 4,500 pounds. Today, the F-35A can carry £ 5,700 pounds for 770 miles without losing the stealth profile. The F-35A may have been easily classified as a heavy bomber due to the early World World War.
The bomber is also changing
Similarly, today’s large number of payload strategic bombers have a hard time to guess by military planners in World War II, do a truly global business, and sometimes maintain the air for nearly two days. You can have a feat that may be. The heavy American services have a maximum payload of 75,000 pounds (B-1B lancer) and 70,000 (B-52 Stratofortress), which is better than 50,000 pounds (B-2 Spirit). Very extended.
However, in most cases, bombers remained greatly specialized in their roles, giving priority to the range, payload, and to some extent the Reuters time for air support. Unlike the bomber of World War II, these aircraft can provide survival possibilities through the second half of the Cold War and the Earth War with Terrorism, in the case of fighters escort, electronic warfare, and B-2. I have become more and more dependent on stealth. In response to the terrestrial and air threats, they driven their attack abilities into bomber missions. However, as these abilities continued to mature, it expanded despite the focus of bombers. The APG-79 Active Electronic Scan Alay, a new upgraded on-board radar of B-52, is directly based on the advanced radar found in the F/A-18 Super Hornet today, and is a number of foreign fighters. It is more technically advanced than the system you can see. As a result, the B-52 is equipped with many systems necessary to use the atmosphere and aerial missiles only because it can improve the targeting of missions in the air.
The US Air Force 5 bomb WING B-52 Stratofortress approaches the US Air Force and is assigned to 909th Air Air Air Fulueling Squadron, and can be refueled in the air for air refueling on October 27, 2022. We do not need to return to the base for fuel, and continue their mission. (Photo of the US Air Force by Airman Alexis Redin).
In 2011, the Air Force launched a plan for the next generation of stealth bombers, with a significant change in the way the bomber mission in the United States airbreaks was deployed. This new effort called the “Long-distance strike bomber” (LRS-B) was constructed mainly on the concept of having a single platform that could complete the entire quilchain alone. Target, involvement, evaluation. This means that a new bomber needs to carry the needed intelligence, monitoring, and reconnaissance (ISR) system. After that, a system on the ship is required to lead the weapon to the target, and the ISR function required to evaluate the strike again. In addition, this platform must share all of these data with other aircraft and surface systems in the battle space, and this bomber is not only a bombing package, but a real -time battle manager.
Achieving all of this is now known as B-21 Raider, this new bomber needs to carry the most advanced Avionics Suite in American services, and various inservises and still development weapons systems. You need the ability to utilize. 。 In fact, hunters in a single use, such as AI compatible wingman or DARPA long shot missiles, may even maximize their skills in the air. This shows all bombers that can attract more and more than the border between the ground threat and the traditional roles of fighters and bombers.
Needless to say, Congress research services are more than the B-22 that came before the F-22 rapters, which were developed under the next-generation aviation control program. He clearly states that there may be something in common.
Colonel Razon, Commander of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, will operate aerially on July 9, 2024, in preparation for the airshow season on the progress of Langley Yustis, Virginia. It emphasizes the importance of the Air Force in the modern war and helps to strengthen advanced fighters like the F-22 rapter. (Photograph of the US Air Force by Senior Academic Michaela Smith)
What does this mean for a new stealth aircraft in China?
A new Chinese stealth aircraft in China looks more dramatic than the B-22 Raider, a border between fighters and bombers. After all, the purpose of the B-22 is to function as a (very small) strategic bomber with truly global reach, but the J-36 aims to be more modestly reduced to about 2,000 miles. It seems to be. Similarly, the paybay is large for fighters, but is quite small for bombers. The vertical tail deficiency is leaning toward stealth design of the stealth bomber, but all aspect stealth style is expected to adhere to the sixth generation fighter as well.
This aircraft is clearly aimed at flying at high speed and altitude.
Other Chinese fighters -it is especially needed to maintain the Pacific Ocean airspace, which is contested in a potential dispute with the United States. How it goes can be borrowed from both traditional fighters and bomber mission sets. An advanced kil web, an off -board sensor, a unique onboard targeting system, and a bomb with a guide or ground metile stored in major weapons, engage on the ground runway, air defense system, and command structure. Masu.
Assuming that this aircraft can do any mission effectively, the designated debate is a matter of which mission set is given priority over other mission sets. It is expected that modern fighters prioritize the range and payload over aerobic performance, and the modern bombers are expected to hire enemy aircraft in the sky, so they will execute them. Can I even find the border between the two aircraft intended? ?
This series of questions does not intend to suggest that compromise is no longer part of the aviation design. I intend to sacrifice something that can be better with something better with something else. However, as the latest targeting systems increase, as both mission sets increase, as the payload of the fighter increases and the payload of the bomber becomes smaller, we will discuss these new aircraft.
Ultimately, you need to find a new and more convenient way to classify the platform. Probably, depending on the payload and range, not the target set. However, in the meantime, I will not fix the J-36 as a fighter or bomber. At least until one mission set shows a clear tendency to other missions.
About the author: Alex Hollings
Alex Hollings is the editor of the Sandboxx blog and a former U.S. Marine Corps writing about defense policy and technology. He lives with Georgia’s wife and daughter. This first appeared on Sandboxx.
