In the fierce competition of modern air combat, the F22 of the United States and the J-20 of China, as representative fifth-generation fighters of their respective armies, have always stood on the cusp of the storm and attracted countless lights; People were surprised to find that although the F22 has an advantage of 8 air-to-air missiles, in the overall design concept, the J-20 has taken a different approach, choosing a design path that pays more attention to supersonic penetration capabilities and long range. Behind this choice, it reveals the differentiated thinking of China and the United States in air supremacy strategy.
The design of the F22 focuses more on air superiority performance, that is, aerial combat capabilities. This makes it relatively compact in size, with a length of only 18.92 meters and a wingspan of 78.04 square meters. China's J-20, on the other hand, pays more attention to supersonic penetration capabilities, so its size is much larger than that of the F22, with a fuselage length of 20.3 meters. This design makes the J-20 slightly inferior to the F22 in terms of maneuverability, but it has a greater improvement in range and bomb carrying capacity.
First, the mystery of the bomb bay: the truth about the number of missiles
Compared to the F22, although the main bomb bay of the J-20 is larger, it carries fewer missiles. The reason was that China's air-to-air missile technology was not as advanced as that of the United States at that time. China's most advanced air-to-air missile at the time, the Thunderbolt 12, was nearly four meters long and 203 millimeters in diameter, while the American air-to-air missile AMIM120 was only 177.8 millimeters in diameter and only 3.6 meters long. Therefore, although the J-20 has a larger bomb bay, it carries fewer missiles than the F22 due to missile size limitations.
However, with China's technological breakthrough in the field of fuel, Continental's missile designers did not choose to reduce the size of the missile, but used this advantage to develop the Thunderbolt 15 with a range of 200 kilometers. This shocked the United States because, despite the small number of missiles carried by the J-20, each missile has a range much longer than the F22.
2. Modern air combat: a duel beyond the number of missiles
In modern air combat, the quality of fighters no longer depends only on the number of missiles, but on multiple factors such as comprehensive radar detection capabilities and the stealth of fighters. Therefore, although the J-20 has fewer missiles than the F22, it is not inferior to its opponents in air combat. The J-20's radar detection capability exceeds that of the F22, which is an important advantage in air combat. Because in modern air combat, the first to detect the enemy is tantamount to occupying the initiative.
In addition, the J-20 has another important feature: a two-seat design. This allows the J-20 to carry out more complex tactical coordination on the battlefield, and even control drones for combat. This undoubtedly greatly improves the combat capability of the J-20, and further demonstrates the advanced nature of its design concept.
Third, the strategic choice behind the design
Looking back at the above analysis, we can conclude that the difference in design between the F22 and the J-20 is actually the embodiment of their respective strategic choices. The F22 is designed to focus more on air superiority performance, so it can carry more air-to-air missiles; The J-20 pays more attention to supersonic penetration capabilities and long range, although the number of missiles is small, but the range and power of each missile cannot be ignored. In addition, the J-20 surpasses the F22 in radar detection capabilities and has a two-seat design, which makes the J-20 have a unique advantage in modern air combat.
Each aircraft design has its own unique advantages and limitations. In the face of the cruel reality of war, their respective design concepts and strategic choices will also be ruthlessly tested. It remains to be seen how the F22 and J-20 will demonstrate their unique combat effectiveness in future air battles.