At the Zhuhai Airshow, everyone did not see the H-20 as expected, but from the interviews of the chief divisions, we also heard some development ideas for the future domestic new fighters. Among them, the oil-20, the new generation of carrier-based aircraft, and the J-20 two-seat version have all been clearly arranged. Among them, the next generation of carrier-based aircraft is clearly unveiled before the end of the year, which seems to be nailed down, and the serial model of the J-20 has also been mentioned on many occasions. Recently, there are pictures on the Internet that mention that the J-20 two-seater type has been tested, coupled with the next generation of carrier-based aircraft, then there may be a good thing before the end of the year.
According to social media reports, online images show that the J-20S is a two-seater or has been test flown, although the news has not been confirmed. However, according to the interview of the previous J-20 General Division and Yang Wei's speech at the Zhuhai Air Show, the development of the J-20 series has been carried out for a long time, and it is expected that the J-20S two-seat version will appear recently.
If the J-20S two-seater has really been test-flown, it will be the world's first two-seat fifth-generation aircraft, and at present, the United States and other Western countries have not yet developed a two-seat F35 and other fighter plans, which means that the J-20S will have an absolute advantage once it appears. Judging from the current generally accepted speculation, the J-20S two-seater model will be different from the current traditional two-seat model. J-16, J-7A and other two-seaters are equipped with ground attack or multi-purpose combat capabilities, it is difficult for the front row pilots alone to operate a large number of electronic equipment, and the addition of the rear row pilots will share the tasks of electronic interference, ground target locking and weapon control, and the front row pilots can concentrate on driving. However, the rear pilots of the J-20 are different.
According to Fu Qianwei, deputy editor and reviewer of the Air Force Aviation Magazine, a well-known domestic military expert, the rear seat of the J-20S is not only equipped to guide fighters to strike at the ground, but also pays more attention to controlling unmanned aerial vehicles to cooperate with J-20 operations. In fact, this concept is not particularly novel, the United States' loyal wingman program is the cooperation of manned aircraft and drones, but by adding rear pilots to enhance the command and coordination of unmanned aerial vehicles, it is still very rare in the world. If the technology can be realized, then the rear pilot of the J-20S two-seat type will also serve as the commander of the UAV, and many domestic UAVs such as the current Rainbow and Phenom can participate in coordinated operations. However, from the perspective of stealth ability, the current flying wing stealth UAV attack-11 is most suitable for matching with the J-20S.
If the non-stealth drone is used with the J-20S two-seater type, it is easy to expose the position of the control aircraft, and the use of the attack-11, which also has stealth capabilities, is very suitable, and the cooperation between the stealthy manned aircraft and the drone can be called a combination. From the perspective of actual combat, the addition of Attack 11 can solve several problems, one is the problem of bomb load, the J-20 stealth ammunition bay position is limited, and after carrying air combat weapons, the ground strike capability is obviously insufficient. Whether it is expanding the bomb bay or wing mounting, the side effects are very obvious, and the modification is difficult.
If attack 11 is used to fight together, the ammunition can be distributed on the drone, using the simplest and lowest cost method to solve the problem. The second is to increase the perception ability, as an air superiority fighter, every gram of weight is precious, and the side effects of increasing the perception ability are too great. Through the formation of a distributed network of multiple UAVs, the perception ability range of the entire formation can be strengthened, so that the J-20S system can reach the level of the 5++ generation, which will pose a lot of pressure on the current F22 and F35.
Of course, even if the J-20S has not been able to confirm the test flight, it does not matter, after all, before the end of the year, we can still look forward to the emergence of the next generation of carrier-based aircraft, whether it is the J-15 catapult board, or the fourth generation of the sea, I believe it is enough to make military fans and friends excited. If two new fighters appear at the same time, it is a good thing to become a pair, and under the momentum of the rapid development of the domestic aviation industry today, this expectation is still possible to achieve.