Hi Res pics of Soobrazitelnyy (Сообразительный) during Navy Day in St. Petersburg, c/o pfc-joker:

http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6510/128858542.16/0_88182_8e0dcc06_orig
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6410/128858542.16/0_87b70_590b946f_orig
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/6411/128858542.16/0_88181_8df90ff0_orig

Considering China hacked Lockheed-Martins servers, looking for information on a still classified program, and downloaded everything on the F-22 and F-35 while they were at it, you’re not far off. Of course, we (The public) never found out if they got the information on the classified program they were trying to get the tech on.

Not everything, the evidence suggests data only for the F-35 front and F-22 fins 😀

LM & Co. need to install this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u5u5A8_SE0

They haven’t copied. They’ve adopted established design solutions from 2 different aircraft in order to avoid the time, effort & expense of a ‘clean sheet’ design (such as the AMCA, KF-X or ATD-X). If they’d gone down that route they’d have a technical-engineering knowledge base of how and why the end product was reached. They have this for the J-20 because much of the ground work may have already been done elsewhere and they are in possession of all the data, which has facilitated their modifications to suite their needs.

In the J-31’s case, I’m not so sure of how this ‘mating’ of 2 designs can deliver an aerodynamically efficient and structurally sound fighter by mere tinkering- such as enlarging an F-35 type intake, huge F-22 style fins etc. Besides, it would be difficult to put down certain features such as the contour and integration of the upper chine, radome shape & segment (in fact much of the fore cockpit bulkhead) as a coincidence, if this was a ‘clean sheet’ design, especially if it transpires that the dimensions of such features are near-identical to the F-35. Certainly if BAE Systems’ was hacked as far back as 2008 (as reported), then that data would have easily been in time to be incorporated.

It looks like they have great faith in their CAD packages to iron out any scalability & dynamic issues of this hybrid design. CFD can only go so far to predict real world characteristics so the flight test programme will be interesting.

Kudos and good luck to them.

you gave the answer yourself… daimler can sell only to a german company (politics), so these shares can’t go to BAe, we’re back to the point where BAe has no way to buy 40% of EADS shares as stated previously

In Germany, the deal was welcomed by one of EADS’s key shareholders that has long wanted to withdraw from the group. Daimler, which controls 22.5 per cent of EADS, said: “Since the planned transaction would also be linked to a possible dissolution of the [French and German] shareholder pact, all options would be open to us in principle – including the possibility of selling our stake on the open market.”

Pay attention! 😡

US likely to demand strict safeguards, may insist on BAE demerging it’s US defence businesses, target for US takeover not ruled out:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6e5437a-fdbc-11e1-9901-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26HevN7tj

BAE SYSTEMS’ falls today can be explained as profit booking, post late rally yesterday afternoon. However, I’d be quite concerned about the huge volumes (levels not seen in over a year) of EADS’ shares literally being ‘dumped’ right now…remember this is not ‘facebook’!

This story made me laugh! Having made tons of ca$h in the US on the various incarnations of ‘The War on Terror’ by buying up small-medium sized US defence firms going cheap, now these are winding down, BAE Systems finds itself beached with it’s trunks down having run the UK defence industry into the ground. So what could be better (or shrewder) in these austere times? Ah, yes, a merger with EADS (owning 40%).

BA:LSE + 8%, EAD:PAR -5.63% speaks volumes (no pun intended!)

Long way to go yet, Paris, Berlin, EC commission on monopolies…and BAE’s greatest hurdle, from it’s biggest customer- the US. 😀

Here is a report (from 2002) on the synthesis of regular Magnesium Boride (MgB) structure to MgB MWNT:

http://livescience.ru/content/view/831/227/

So by all accounts this fan-blade is a Magnesium Boride MWNT carbon fibre composite structure.

Latest update:

The above supposition is wrong because the fan blade is not composed of the compound Magnesium-boride (MgB), but the 2 individual elements of Magnesium, Boron combined with Carbon-fibre composite. Apologies, misled by technical paper(s) stating “Mg-B”.

These three constituents are used to form what’s known as a Metal Matrix Composite (MMC)/Металлические матрицы (Металлокомпозиты).

Создание современных газотурбинных двигателей (ГТД) характеризуется заменой в ряде деталей традиционных конструкционных материалов (сталей и титановых сплавов) на современные композиционные материалы (КМ), имеющие более высокие удельные прочность и жесткость.

Такие работы проводят все ведущие двигателестроительные фирмы мира
(General Electric, Pratt and Whitney, CFM International и др.). Исследованиями в этой области в нашей стране занимаются ФГУП ЦИАМ, ФГУП ВИАМ**, ОАО «НПП «Мотор», ОАО «Пермский моторный завод» и др.

В настоящее время одним из основных направлений по применению КМ в газотурбинных двигателях является создание лопатки из углепластика, лопатки из титанового сплава, армированного волокнами карбида кремния, лопатки составной конструкции и лопатки из КМ на металлической матрице.

Creation of modern gas turbine engines (GTE) are characterized by the replacement of some parts of traditional structural materials (steels and titanium alloys) with modern composite materials (CM) with a higher specific strength and stiffness

Such work is undertaken by the leading engine manufacturers of the World (General Electric, Pratt and Whitney, CFM International, etc.). Research in this area in our country is undertaken by ‘FGUP TsIAM’, ‘FGUP VIAM’**, OAO ‘NPP Motor’, OAO ‘Perm Engine Plant’ and others.

Currently, one of the main activities on the application of composite materials in turbine engines blades is a establishment of fan blades from CFRP*, fan blades from titanium alloys, reinforced silicon carbide composite blades*, and fan blades composed of composite materials on a metal matrix*.

В перспективных двигателях пятого и шестого поколений на первых ступенях применяются лопатки из металлокомпозитов, где в матрице из алюминиевого или магниевого сплава располагаются армирующие нити из бора или углерода.

В ОАО «НПП «Мотор» создана рабочая лопатка первой ступени компрессора ГТД на основе магниевой матрицы, армированной борными и углеродными волокнами.

In the first [compressor] stages of the future 5th & 6th generation engines ‘metal-composites’ shall be employed in the fan blades, whereby the matrix made of aluminium or magnesium alloy are reinforced with yarns of boron or carbon.

OAO “NPP” Motor ” have established a working fan-blade of the [engine] compressor’s first stage based on a magnesium matrix, reinforced with boron and carbon fibre composite.

Although ‘Metal-Matrix Composites’ are not new, the use of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforcements is:

Widespread use of metal matrix composites (MMCs) is perhaps 15 to 20 years away, with research only now beginning for commercial aviation applications. Gear says these materials, which will use carbon or metal nanotubes to strengthen metal matrices, will be twice the strength of comparable existing metal structures but only two-thirds the weight.

http://www.gkn.com/aerospace/media/GKN%20Aerospace%20in%20the%20media/Challenges-in-composites.pdf

Boron & carbon fibres can be used as reinforcing materials in the ‘traditional’ sense, by embedding and aligning the fibres in the matrix in a particular direction to produce an anisotropic structure. However, I’m pretty certain CNTs will be used to reinforce the carbon fibre in ‘NPP Motor’s’ Mg-B based MMC fan blade.***

CNTs are already used in MMCs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube_metal_matrix_composites
http://web.eng.fiu.edu/agarwala/PDF/2010/12.pdf

The use of tailor made carbon nanotubes (CNTs) would facilitate not only significantly greater structural reinforcement/thermal stability etc, but efficient broadband (microwave) radar absorption***. As it has been shown that several Russian companies and academic institutions (including aerospace concerns) have demonstrated this technology and it’s synthesis/production for several years***, there is no reason to assume they didn’t implement it, and every reason to suggest they did:

FGUP TsIAM’s (ФГУП ЦИАМ) 2nd patent (2009)for a different CNT synthesis & production method, pertaining to produce MWNTs and other nanostructured carbon fibre composites as a “raw material” in a single process, on an industrial scale for use in “hybrid, high-temperature composite materials for the aviation industry and missile production”:

http://www.findpatent.ru/patent/240/2408531.html
http://www.findpatent.ru/patent/237/2379387.html (TsIAM’s 1st patent, 2008);
http://www.itae.ru/obsh_sved_e.htm (ITAE state contract U0875/2268);

In conclusion, I would expect significant use of CNTs not only for the engine (compressor blades, turbines, engine shroud etc.) but importantly, also the T-50’s air intakes’ cavity and duct- which is made from CFRP:

http://www.rusnanonet.ru/articles/73667/

*All these are candidates for CNT composites;

**’FGUP VIAM’ (ФГУП ВИАМ) are long established and serious players in composites and nanotech applications including stealth (e.g. the RAM for the Tu-160’s intakes), and are also PAK-FA stage 2 engine contractors:

http://ntsr.info/science/reviews/2117.htm

***see pages 3 & 4.