China's two new stealth aircraft programmes include a possible long-range strike aircraft and a possible next-generation fighter. (Janes)
China has revealed for the first time the existence of two new stealth aircraft currently under development, video imagery of which appeared on domestic social media channels on 26 December. Both aircraft have tailless configurations in addition to other novel design features.
The first aircraft to emerge online appeared to be a high-performance strike aircraft. The aircraft, which has an estimated length of 23 m and an estimated wingspan of 24.8 m, potentially appears to be powered by three engines.
With compound diamond-delta wings and leading-edge extensions (LEXs) nearly up to the nose, the aircraft's design is partially reminiscent of the J-20 family of aircraft. However, the aircraft's rearward design differs from that of the J-20.
The new aircraft's two primary engine intakes are caret-shaped and lack the diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) bumps present on the J-20 family. A third engine intake is located in a dorsal position, behind what appears to be a cockpit. The resolution of images and videos of the aircraft do not yet confirm if the aircraft is a manned or unmanned platform.
The aircraft is also larger than the J-20, which has an estimated length of 20.9 m and a wingspan of 12.88 m.
Two windows, likely for an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS), can be seen on both sides of the nose of the new aircraft. The aircraft conducted the flight trial in the wheels-down configuration. The video of the flight test shows that it was accompanied by a two-seat Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company (CAC) J-20S fifth-generation aircraft in factory primer yellow, operating as a chase aircraft and equipped with camera pods.
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