The fact that the 30-ton stealth carrier-based aircraft has not yet been finalized has really surprised the outside world! As we have already talked about a few days ago, whether the new main stealth carrier-based aircraft will be positioned in the 30-plus or final 33-35 tons, whether it will have a side bomb bay, and whether it will have a binary vector nozzle with a better comprehensive stealth effect are all key factors that have not been finalized. In fact, among all these important uncertainties, the core is actually one, that is, the question of whether or not to side the bomb bay! Compared with this most critical link, the size of the ultimate tonnage and the shape of the tail nozzle are secondary. Of course, the size of the final tonnage directly determines the presence or absence of side bomb bays. For example, if it is less than 30 tons, it is difficult to "cut" out the space of two side bomb bays from the side of the fuselage. And once positioned above 32 tons, then there will be 100% side bomb bays. The problem is that there are several existing prototypes that are undergoing test flights,
There is a high probability that there are no side bomb bays. This is most likely the root cause of not obtaining the ultimate approval from the direct users and thus not being granted a mass production license. So why do you have to have side bomb bays? The two most powerful heavy stealth aircraft in the world today, both of which are land-based versions, are standard in the main bomb bay plus 2 side bomb bays. Under normal circumstances, the main bomb bay can contain 4 or 6 medium-range bombs. Each of the 2 side bomb bays has 1 combat round. However, even if the main bomb bay of the F22A is used as a standard, then in order to fully load 6 AIM120C5 medium-range bombs, a special slimmed version is needed. If you want to load the ultra-long-range super air-to-air missile, which is becoming more and more popular, then there is a high probability that you can only load 4 rounds. The other standard heavy land-based stealth fighter is similar, with the only difference being that the side bomb bay of this model has more potential to dig deep into the interior space. For the first time, 4 ultra-long-range bombs can be realized in the main bomb bay, and 2 large side bomb bays again,
Each has a built-in 2 medium and long-range combat bombs, a total of 8 missiles of powerful air combat mode. And today, the only standard stealth carrier-based aircraft in service in the world, that is, the F35C, has only the main bomb bay in the abdomen, and does not have any side bomb bays. As a result, only 4 medium-range rounds can be built-in, or 2 medium-range rounds and 2 combat rounds can be built-in, which is a lack of firepower no matter how you look at it. The multiple prototypes of the 30-ton stealth carrier-based aircraft also had only the main bomb bay in the abdomen and no side bomb bay at the beginning, so they could only have 4 long-range bombs built into the belly, or the mode of 2 plus 2; The earlier requirement may have been to be able to simply match the combat effectiveness of the F35C. And after the delivery of more than 80,000 tons of platforms, the original requirements are obviously seriously outdated. At present, the basic requirement is to comprehensively suppress the F35C; if necessary, it will be able to completely resist the F22A without falling behind! Under this new requirement, having only four missiles at most will be considered to be a difficult situation for a clever woman to cook without rice. Moreover, our ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles,
Both the range and the hit rate have long been several times that of the AIM120 series! This provides a technical possibility for early firing and preemptive strike. The first enemy to open fire will inevitably lead to the earlier depletion of its own missiles. This will have only one main bomb bay, which will be filled with a maximum of 4 rounds inside, which will be depleted very quickly. From any point of view, the addition of two side bomb bays, preferably a large side bomb bay that can be loaded with two rounds at the same time, must be achieved unconditionally. And to increase the side bomb bays, the tonnage of the whole aircraft cannot be too small. Now even the take-off gear on the 2 60,000-ton sliding platforms has increased the width, which also hints that the new model will inevitably be further enlarged, and 32 to 33 tons is the entry standard!