J-36
Posted by ferventlycavalier@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 79 comments
The main gear do not look nearly robust enough for an aircraft weighing 90,000lbs+. Also, where does this thing have enough internal fuel storage to feed three jet engines? I realize this is not a production model.
Healey_Dell@reddit
I find it hard to believe that in a country of 1bn people there’s no one smart enough to think of landing gear loads. Just saying…
MAVACAM@reddit
Crazy that a country full of STEM experts who've graduated from leading US and other Western universities building a 6th gen stealth fighter hasn't thought about putting in sufficient landing gears but somehow a checks notes paramedic that believes in aliens and interdimensional beings has.
Wild.
-Fraccoon-@reddit
That’s what happens when your country has ironically sucked at warfare in the modern age. China got their asses kicked during WWII and has almost zero real world modern war experience. If they waged a true war with the US they would get absolutely demolished right now. The last time they had any advantage was in Korea which ended in a stalemate and their only advantage was manpower, not technology.
Pirate1641@reddit
Are you stupid? Manpower doesn’t mean shit when there are machine guns, artillery and planes (you sleep during world war 1 history class?). The US was initially out tactic’ed by veteran PLA troopers that spent a decade fighting a foe with superior firepower.
The US has not never fought a peer power with nuclear weapons in a conventional war either. So it could go either way if a war was to be fought now.
-Fraccoon-@reddit
You’re an idiot
Healey_Dell@reddit
Lots of dick-swinging from some of our American friends these days, haha. Times do change - 200 years ago the UK was the superpower and they were convinced that that would never change. Now of course no one knows how the future holds, but powers rise and fall and you can be sure the US won’t be at the top forever. As for China, it has a very long history and it has risen, collapsed and rebuilt itself in various forms for over 4000 years. Best not to be arrogant.
blowgrass-smokeass@reddit
Manpower is the only reason Russia and Ukraine are still at war….
Pirate1641@reddit
Relevant to my comment how?
blowgrass-smokeass@reddit
Uh..
Pirate1641@reddit
1950s vs 2020s
Uhhggg
Healey_Dell@reddit
Lots of dick-swinging from some of our American friends these days, haha. Times do change - 200 years ago the UK was the superpower and they were convinced that that would never change. Now of course no one knows how the future holds, but powers rise and fall and you can be sure the US won’t be at the top forever. As for China, it has a very long history and it has risen, collapsed and rebuilt itself in various forms for over 4000 years. Best not to be arrogant.
SeaFuel2@reddit
Times change buddy.
Cool-Acanthaceae8968@reddit
It also looks plenty robust for 90,000 lbs.
throw_me_away3478@reddit
They should've asked random Americans for help tbh
ShakyBrainSurgeon@reddit
A bit sceptic on the control surfaces, they seem not optimal for stealth. I´d bet good money that the third engine was born out of necessity because their engines are a bit on the weaker side...
Put_It_All_On_Eclk@reddit
They're walking a line between stealth and hypersonic capability, which are opposite extremes at atmosphere. But what I see is those're hypersonic flaps. And the direction of all military aviation is towards stealth, even if it's not great stealth, so attempts towards stealth shouldn't be discounted.
I personally think the design goal is for a very high flight ceiling, very high velocity, foregoing maneuverability entirely for stealth, which isn't as handicapped by low atmosphere. Hence the 3 engines and giant wing. China has by the way been claiming to set records with high altitude stealth aircraft before the J36.
ShakyBrainSurgeon@reddit
I completely disagree. What makes you think, the flaps are designed for hypersonic speeds? Have you seen what the controll surfaces looked like on the X-15? The ones presented here are rather fragile. Overall this design looks like it´s going anywhere between Mach 1.3 to Mach 2.0. The faster you go, the more you will end up with a big stick instead of a flying wing.
wolftick@reddit
The silhouette looks 2025 but the front end looks like something from the 1970s.
d_e_u_s@reddit
It's a pitot tube.
wolftick@reddit
I mean the whole nose, cockpit and front part of the fuselage. It looks like it could be straight off a 70s MiG.
d_e_u_s@reddit
huh? i can't see the resemblance. here's an image from another angle
Maximus13@reddit
This thing is just a red herring
dcw9031@reddit
Yeah. Kinda makes me wonder if their plan is more like “Let’s get the US to bankrupt itself with 6th gen while we make cheap drones”.
Maximus13@reddit
Exactly.
Everyone focuses on a stealth fighter that can shoot down another one from 100miles away, flies twice the speed of sound, but it's not gonna do much good against 1000 autonomous drones that it can't individually pick out.
They want us to see this, what we should be concerned about is what they don't want us to see.
afito@reddit
Probably not, Chinese aerospace industry used to be quite a bit behind and has been making leaps in recent years. Even if this plane doesn't go anywhere it's crucial for China to get their own data & experience on these things.
If nothing else this is good data on a pure delta (no canard no rudder) as well as modern engines & hiding IR signatures.
AboveAverage1988@reddit
What in the h*ll is it doing with its trailing edges?!
yetiflask@reddit
Not the best stealth on this aircraft. They really need to redesign that wing. It's just not stealthy. I appreciate some of the work they have done on the belly, but still some ways to go.
fourunderthebridge@reddit
Holy crap the arrogance...
yetiflask@reddit
I actually happen to be an expert on stealth. So arrogance? no. Knowledge? yes.
Plebius-Maximus@reddit
Yes I'm sure your stealth craft is better lmao
yetiflask@reddit
Yup. I have been following stealth since the early days. I know if something is not stealthy, J-36 being one of them. I maintain my own stealth rating scale. It is about Su-57 though. But that aircraft is a scam anyway.
UW_Ebay@reddit
Is this supposed to be a fighter or a bomber?
Awalawal@reddit
yes
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
Exactly. I fighter with side by side seating and a large internal store.
chunkymonk3y@reddit
So like a next gen su-34?
Nexa991@reddit
Probably missile platform for long range missiles be it ground or air targets
Sea_Perspective6891@reddit
It is all next gen tech at least according to China. Maybe they found a way to make the 3 engine config more efficient so it doesn't need much fuel.
agha0013@reddit
Likely doesn't need all three engines for most of its stealthy work and cruising, just a GTFO or rapid scramble kind of thing.
IM_REFUELING@reddit
That's a massive waste of weight and volume to carry around an engine you don't need for 99% of your operations.
Nexa991@reddit
It would need it if it were to engage aircraft carriers of unnamed nation.
chunkymonk3y@reddit
If the purpose was for rapid scramble surely it’s easier/cheaper to use rocket boosters
Dajeff1234@reddit
if you have very efficant engines why not take one off and have very long range plane. why three
diezel_dave@reddit
You use three when two is not enough. Not enough thrust or reliability is the question though.
jojoxy@reddit
There is a reason why triple engine airliners are basically extinct. Jet engines have become so reliable, efficient and powerful that a twin engine 777 sized plane can loose an engine half way across the Pacific and still safely reach an airport. If you need three engines for a fighter jet, you have seriously unreliable and/or weak engines.
Recoil42@reddit
Because they're able to re-use the engines they're using on other aircraft.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
The layout seems odd.
pandaturtle27@reddit
I read a comment earlier where they suspect the 3rd engine to be a scramjet. This should hep in running away or getting close whatever thr target is.
I think this may help explain why China is not so big on stealth. It can only take you so far before needing pure speed to outrun whatever is fired against it
Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit
Theory is this thing has a sense sensor suite and that generally requires a lot of power (and generates a lot of heat.) A third engine could help offset that.
youraveragep3rson@reddit
Looks kinda like a hybrid of the non existent sr22(the concept) and a b2 spirit
avi8tor@reddit
Flying Dorito :D
discombobulated38x@reddit
Sneaky little spiiicy tortilla chip
Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit
It’s already outdated. This would’ve been an old design in 2005.
Plebius-Maximus@reddit
This coming from the sub that jerks off over the 35 year old design that is the F22 is hilarious
How can you call something outdated without knowing any of its specs lmao
doubletaxed88@reddit
Those engine intakes are anything but stealthy
fourunderthebridge@reddit
Wait, why not? Aren't these caret intakes like on the F-22?
Plebius-Maximus@reddit
Yeah but the F-22 is prime masturbation material. While anything made in China cannot be
ghostchihuahua@reddit
Aaaaaand welcome to a discussion that Chinese thing will be dragged through mud… it’ll probably take a catastrophic war for westerners (i’m among those) to realize that China is now a power to be reckoned with, as unacceptable as it may seem to some.
Seattle_gldr_rdr@reddit
Three burners. Baby got so much ass.
2407s4life@reddit
Look at the gear on the F-15E, that jet has a max takeoff weight of 81,000 lbs. This gear is quite a bit beefier
I'm willing to be there is a decent amount of fuel in both the wings and fuselage. Maybe worth comparing to the F-111 in that regard.
China seems to be emphasizing range, altitude, and stealth for a platform that can carry a handful of their very long range air to air missiles internally. I doubt there is much if any emphasis on things like dogfighting or dynamic performance.
DCS-Doggo@reddit
This is an SU-30 with a body kit. The fiero of 5th gen jets.
FoxhoundBat@reddit
1; We don't know it's weight. It might be more than "90k lbs" or it might not be.
2; Are you telling us you know more about landing gear design than the actual engineers that worked on this plane? Because I very much doubt that.
3; MiG-31 weighs similar or more fully loaded. It has very similar design and size of the landing gear. And it is doing fine, so what are your conclusion based upon then?
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
2; No. It's an observation.
Cool-Acanthaceae8968@reddit
Your observation is meaningless. My observation is that this looks far more robust than the gear on a 90,000 lbs Global Express… and Eastern Bloc nations tend to build their gear much stronger for poor and unimproved airfields.
SmallRocks@reddit
This thing does not look like it does the things that the Chinese claims it does.
rxmp4ge@reddit
I've also never seen a photo of it without the drag rudders deployed so you know that has to have an effect on the RCS.
malcifer11@reddit
so obnoxious watching nationalistic uniformed redditors dismiss the efforts of what are most certainly some of the greatest minds in a nation of one billion based off literally nothing at all but one photograph and vibes. you don’t know a single thing about landing gear construction, engine power, fuel capacity, or how control surfaces affect stealth. you watched two Real Engineering videos and grew up having ‘China bad’ poured down your throats and it put you proudly at the top of the dunning-kruger curve. you look stupid as fuck, and your American Excellence boner won’t do a thing to stop thousands of americans and chinese dying pointlessly and violently if war ever comes again. just stop
theboldyin@reddit
Looks like a Foxhound with a delta wing and Viggen landing gear.
Crazy__Donkey@reddit
Who takes these pictures?
slickrrrick@reddit
they are not hiding it. flying over metro areas.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
This is what you do when you want people to take pictures.
Spaceginja@reddit
I thought there were only two engines.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
There is a third intake on top of the fuselage, behind the cockpit.
EdwinMcQ@reddit
This is what happens when there aren't clear production examples or plans to steal.
agha0013@reddit
No one knows anything about the exact internal arrangements and volume of this aircraft. There's plenty of speculation but none of it is confirmed.
One publisher put out a "cutaway" that's just guesswork and super basic.
As for landing gear, also hard to say just from pictures, the SU-34 isn't far off in terms of max weight and uses a very similar landing gear arrangement.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
I saw a cut away, and it only shows 2 engines. The main gear might be from the su-34.
agha0013@reddit
this one was posted a couple weeks ago https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1jfpdph/cutaway_of_the_j36_courtesy_of_aerospace_magazine/
showing three engines, and everythign internal is complete guesswork.
those wings can contain a fair amount of fuel, but we know nothing about exact arrangements and volume of the main body so who knows.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
That's cool. I am curious to see how they handle aerial refueling. It would seem that designing a boom style receiver would be difficult with the third engine on top. Thanks for sharing that post, I hadn't seen it.
Still-Union-2528@reddit
The front kind of reminds me of a Foxbat. idk just reminds me of it.
ferventlycavalier@reddit (OP)
The front gear looks massive and capable.