I agree, the thing is fugly X32 style.

Nic

X-32 is only fugly from the frontal view.

Given that J-10A is 16.43 meters long, I would say J-20 is easily over 19 meters.

Duh! We all know it’s well over 20 meters.

This is why im all in favour of at least a 2 type fleet (eg Tiffy F35) so 1 technical problem doesnt ground youre entire airforce.

Only if the problem is not related to a shared commonality in design.

Weber also said that equipment such as the OBOGS is fairly standardized across multiple aircraft types, which means aircraft other than the F-22 likely are also affected, which Air Combat Command acknowledges

That sounds about right , this Su-35S will be second only to the F-22 when it becomes operational ( next year ? )…other than that it can give a very hard time indeed to anything non-stealth outthere ( Rafale , Typhoon , SH , F-15 , you name it ). Just my 2 cents.

Really looking forward to some nice pics of the bird, come on Sukhoi …:)

I’d second that. While no one knows how much RCS reduction the Su-35S received, it’s probably reasonable to assume that the F-35 is way stealthier than the Su. Unless the Flanker has some ridiculously powerful radar or jammer, in most engagement conditions, the F-35 will the first shot. Just my observation

Also the guys developing WS-15 (Xi’an) seem to be more competent than WS-10 (Shenyang Liming), with the latter’s delays having to do with quality control issues and the like. I suppose we’ll see with time when WS-15 gets mated with the J-20.

Fair enough. I didn’t know WS-15 is being developed by a different team.

Meh fair enough.

What would constitute a “scary” engine on a fighter out of interest? I can only think of the F-119 with its awesome looking TVC nozzles.. but that’s it. Every other fighter engine looks near identical

Well size matters. Look at the size of the engines on the PAK FA compared to the rest of the fuselage, they are SCARY!

I thought the ventral doors were open too… but I think it could just be the right landing gear’s door which drops down?

Regardless I expect the J-20s weapon bays to be very similar to the F-22 given its similarity in fuselage configuration, as opposed to say the T-50. I wonder if the side bay can only hold one missile. It looks like you could squeeze two SRAAMs inside.

I believe it’s the ventral bay door since you can see the folding panels and the hydraulic actuator.

And I doubt the side bay can hold two SRAAMs. At any rate, the J-20 just doesn’t look like a dog fighter anyway, not much of a point to carry more SRAAMs.

new 50-2 maiden flight photos
http://www.knaapo.ru/rus/gallery/events/combat/t-50/t-50-2.wbp

Absolutely stunning-looking bird. I can take my eyes off the photos.

To put it to Jeremy Clarkson’s word, this bird has a soul that the F-22 just lacks.