A bombshell leak out of China may be the clearest images yet of China’s new J-50 stealth fighter, also known as the J-XDS. If the images are real.
This shouldn’t be confused for its counterpart, the J-36. Images of that have been circulating online in high-quality and with greater detail.
It’s unclear whether it’s just a mockup, a prototype, or an actual production frame. This wouldn’t be the first time Beijing overhyped a prototype. This one also appears different than another one photographed on a flight test previously.
Cheap knockoff of the F-22 Raptor?
Assuming the J-XDS images are real, China’s 6th-Gen aircraft appears more like a 5th-Gen “Pro Max”. A cheap American-inspired knockoff of the superior U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor. The 2D thrust-vectoring engines even look the same.
The tailless plane certainly looks cool. It features a diamond-shaped nose with an integrated electro-targeting system underneath, like an F-35. It’s linked to the jet’s integrated central computer through a high-speed fiber-optic interface.
Also notice the seamless canopy with a single pilot, and trapezoidal intakes with a supersonic divertless inlet for smooth, high-speed airflow.
Swiveling wingtips
The thing that appears completely different on the J-50 are swiveling wingtips, which you can see are angled down in the images.
Maneuverability is where the J-50 might shine. The wingtips can be dynamic flight control surfaces to keep the jet stable at slow-speed and landing, or in high-angle attack maneuvering. They may also serve as speed brakes. China may be trying to reinvent the wheel here, but it’s interesting to see them trying.
The jet is also big, and probably heavy. It has a 70-foot wingspan, suggesting long-range missions. Note the two-wheels for the nose landing gear. Composites and carbon-fiber probably help minimize overall weight of the wannabe F-22.
If anything, the new images are fun to analyze and talk about. It’s interesting to think, if worse came to worse, and an F-22 had to dogfight the J-50, our bet is on the F-22 pilot, since that’s what the J-50 kind of is anyway. American pilots are better trained and know their Raptors better than China knows any of their aircraft.
