From today's (1/12/2011) AFA Daily Report:
Right. Nothing to see here -- pure coincidence, that's all. And, ummm... Mr. Gates? Sir? What was that you said about China... or anyone else... not fielding a fifth-generation fighter until 2020, or something like that?Pure Coincidence: Chinese President Hu Jintao assured Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday that news of the Chinese J-20 stealth aircraft making its first flight coming on the same day that Gates and Hu met in Beijing was purely coincidental and not planned. "I asked President Hu about it directly. And he said that the test had absolutely nothing to do with my visit and had been a pre-planned test. And that's where we left it," Gates told reporters after his meeting with Hu on the second of Gates' three-day official China visit. Asked if he believed Hu's explanation, Gates said, "yes." He added, "I take President Hu at his word that the test had nothing to do with my visit." Asked if the timing of the J-20 flight was appropriate—since some might perceive it as in-your-face muscle flexing—Gates said, "that's why I asked President Hu about that." (Gates transcript) (See also our initial coverage of the J-20 flight and Los Angeles Times report)
While we're on the subject... I'm pretty sure the Chinese are gonna build a lot more than 187 of these puppies. Mebbe we could buy a few of 'em, since we're not gonna build any more Raptors and since the US gets nearly everything else from the Chinese. Just sayin'.
The flexing has been going on for years. The problem is their muscle flex is quickly becoming larger than ours, if it hasn't already passed ours. For years I have worried more about what the Chinese capabilities are over the Russians and under the current administration I don't see the gap closing from our side at all. I'm just sayin' too!
ReplyDeleteAnd we sit idly by. With our CinC and SecDef blowing smoke up our ***e*.
ReplyDeleteIf only obama could sit down and talk with them?!?!?!?!?!
And the tooth fairy is going to balance the budget.
No one understands that the ChiComs are working very hard to be the Big Kid on The Block and cost be damned for them.
Buck, we should be able to go to the local WallMart and simply put a J20 on order with them!!
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, there is talk about how "rough" this aircraft is made, more of a critique towards the claims of its stealth capabilities compared against the F-22 and F-35. This point is only relevant when you are 1 v 1 and I don’t think that will ever happen. They will build many more of these than we have of either the F-22 or F-35 and the result will be that in any confrontation with China they will eat the USAF (and the USN Air Arm) for lunch because of superior numbers in their “marginal” stealth aircraft. Who was it that said that Quantity had a Quality all its own? A commie I believe,,,
But we got DADT and soon Gay marriage and the Trans-Gener community will be absored into our military as well, so beating us on the battlefield won't be too tough.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
Dale and Glenn: True.
ReplyDeleteJimmy: The 1v1 thing might happen, unless we throw the Taiwanese under the bus. I'm thinking Taiwan is the end goal of the Chinese military build-up, but I could be wrong.
And I do not see vectored thrust capability. That is one of those things that makes the Raptor so deadly.
ReplyDeleteIf I may, ORPO1, I think those forward canards may well give the J-20 some of that maneuverability the F-22 gets with the vectored thrust, not all but some. I also think the articulating vertical tails on the J-20 give it some capability that you won’t see in the F-22. In both cases I don’t see these two types of fighters actually dog fighting, I think this devolves into who shoots missiles first and that I think will be the F-22. I think the avionics and weapons package on the Raptor is way superior to anything in the J-20. I also think this also gives the edge to the F-35A and “C” models as well, not so much for the Marine Corps version but the Air Force and Navy versions will have the edge.
ReplyDeleteBT: Jimmy T sends.
I read an analysis somewhere that said the J-20's exhaust nozzles were articulated and moved during the pre-flight testing, indicating at least some vectored-thrust capability. But I'd have to agree with you about the avionics and tactics, Jimmy.
ReplyDelete