IMO if Chinese authorities are coming out to deny the rumor, the plane most likely doesn’t exist. They have no reason to hide this after making the J-20 public. Nor do they have a history of denying aircraft projects which later turn out to exist. OTOH rumors of the existence of various projects like the J-20, J-10, J-10B, J-15, H-6K, etc were plentiful but never officially denied.
Finally, I agree with other posters that a VTOL stealth fighter just isn’t needed and distracts from existing high priority projects.
This must be the J-15 right? It can’t be the J-16 since there’s nothing “silent” about this Flanker, unless it uses the Super Hornet’s enclosed weapons pod concept. That’s not an upgrade that would require an entirely new designation number IMO.
Boeing engineers: We should have won F-35 fighter contract
“Many Boeing engineers still grumble that Boeing’s design for the joint strike fighter, not Lockheed Martin Corp.’s, should have won the Air Force contract a decade ago to build the aircraft now known as the F-35….”
Mod Edit: Cut and paste removed to confirm with our policy on fair usage. Link to full article below.
Anyone think UCAVs will mature enough to fill the requirements for small airforces in a decade? Something that can operate from a road, do cessna patrols and fire a couple BVR missiles if attacked by a serious air force?
How did a No Fly Zone enforcement involve blowing up a tank? Wow mission creep on day one. The UN mandate is for the protection of civilians, but how do you differentiate civilians from rebels, who are not civilians? The press has had trouble with that from the beginning. Will the rebels be allowed to operate MiGs or will the No Fly Zone apply only to the Gaddafi gang? Are rebel MiGs under the protective clause of “civilians” as well? Unless that tank was firing on a crowd of unarmed protestors, the prospect of the growing abuse of UN mandate is alarming.
It’s all well and good if Gaddafi gives up quickly, but all he has to do is not fold to make a mess of things.
How did a No Fly Zone enforcement involve blowing up a tank? Wow mission creep on day one. The UN mandate is for the protection of civilians, but how do you differentiate civilians from rebels, who are not civilians? The press has had trouble with that from the beginning. Will the rebels be allowed to operate MiGs or will the No Fly Zone apply only to the Gaddafi gang? Are rebel MiGs under the protective clause of “civilians” as well? Unless that tank was firing on a crowd of unarmed protestors, the prospect of the growing abuse of UN mandate is alarming.
It’s all well and good if Gaddafi gives up quickly, but all he has to do is not fold to make a mess of things.
Better that they develop a dedicated naval single engined J20-lite, and allow the PLAAF to buy more J20s. Although if the J20-lite is only to be for the navy, they may well prefer a twin-engined design with a WS13 class 5th gen engine for added safety.
That would actually be quite attractive on the international market, and not just for the Pakistanis. The South Koreans, Swedes, Turks, and Indonesians all have a F-35 competitor on the drawing board. There’s clearly a market for such an aircraft.
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