Aviation
Military /
China
J-20 vs F-22
Chinese expert says that the J20 fighter could surpass the American F-22
Chengdu J-20
Public Domain
Rafael Ramos
4/24/2021
The J-20 fighter is the 5th generation Chinese aircraft and one of the most advanced in the world. It is the Asian country's response to the North American F-22 Raptor plane.
The Chinese Air Force jet can still be upgraded with two-dimensional thrust vector control (TVC) exhausters for its engines in the future. This would bring greater maneuverability to the aircraft, in addition to increasing its stealth capabilities. As reported by the Global Times, the modified J-20 could even outperform the American F-22, say Chinese experts.
Chengdu J-20, caça de 5ª geração chinês
By Alert5 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via wikimedia commons
That kind of news surfaced when the first J-20 pilot, Li Gang, said the plane should be equipped with the TVC in the future, in an interview with Phoenix TV in Hong Kong. J-20s in service in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force currently use circular exhaust fans with no thrust vector control capability, analysts said.
This type of proposal is not new. Last year, it was reported that a new variant of the J-20, the J-20B, was launched on July 8, 2020 and would be equipped with thrust vectoring control.
With this type of equipment, the aircraft would be able to control altitude and angular speed. Thus, its maneuverability would be greatly increased, especially at high altitudes, where the aircraft's surfaces are unable to produce tight curves.
Lockheed Martin F-22, American Fighter
Domínio Público
This type of technology was developed for rockets and missiles. Then it was also used in aircraft, in order to provide the capacity for vertical (VTOL) or short (STOL) landings and takeoffs.
This ability can be particularly useful in combat, where aircraft need to perform maneuvers that would not be possible without such a system. For example, in curves the aircraft could count on the additional thrust of the engine in that direction, if it were equipped with the system. The additional thrust could also be useful in stall recovery, making the plane able to reach higher attack angles.
However, the comparison of the Chinese J-20 with the American F-22, stating that the first may be better, seems to be forced, since the J-20 suffers from the lack of more powerful engines. This gap is expected to be filled with the introduction of the WS-15 engine in the future.
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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