China China's 6th gen fighter has made its maiden flight

hugh

Committed member
Messages
220
Reactions
3 621
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
Three engines?

Perhaps one of the engines is only for use in high altitudes? I know that they've pointed at their 6th gen aircraft being space/near space capable.

there are many speculations online. one is that the engine on the belly might be a ramjet engine. also the engine intakes are not DSI, which China was using extensively for its other fighter jets.
 

Lool

Experienced member
DefenceHub Diplomat
Messages
3,034
Reactions
15 5,242
Nation of residence
Albania
Nation of origin
Albania

Afif

Experienced member
Moderator
Bangladesh Correspondent
DefenceHub Diplomat
Bangladesh Moderator
Messages
4,803
Reactions
98 9,209
Nation of residence
Bangladesh
Nation of origin
Bangladesh
1735215037393.jpeg

1735215076786.jpeg

1735215205588.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Afif

Experienced member
Moderator
Bangladesh Correspondent
DefenceHub Diplomat
Bangladesh Moderator
Messages
4,803
Reactions
98 9,209
Nation of residence
Bangladesh
Nation of origin
Bangladesh

It maybe the rumored JH-26 supersonic stealth fighter-bomber. Not PLAAF's actual 6th fen fighter. Like FB-22 strike Raptor concept. But superior.

1735215725808.jpeg


Or it may actually be their manned component of 6th gen family of system. Who knows! Nevertheless very impressive.

@Sanchez @Kartal1 @TR_123456 @Nilgiri @dBSPL @Anmdt et al.

And @Nilgiri bro today is Mao Zedong's birthday and this is the gift. It's time for you praise CCP for once.🙂
 
Last edited:

Afif

Experienced member
Moderator
Bangladesh Correspondent
DefenceHub Diplomat
Bangladesh Moderator
Messages
4,803
Reactions
98 9,209
Nation of residence
Bangladesh
Nation of origin
Bangladesh
The chinese are truly astounding
They flew their 6th gen aircraft prototype before even the Americans, insane tbh🔥🔥🔥

Whats even crazier is that they didnt fly one but TWO different 6th gen prototypes; one of them reportedly flew with 3 engines

Within the next decade or two, China will eventually surpass the US



Relax, USAF flew its 6th Gen Tech demonstrator back in 2020.


But yes, it is extremely impressive and only PRC has the ability to pull something like this now apart from USA.
 
Last edited:

Mis_TR_Like

Contributor
Staff member
Administrator
Messages
1,442
Reactions
30 5,638
Nation of residence
Australia
Nation of origin
Northern Cyprus
To be completely honest I know nothing about Chinese aircraft programs. But the most logical explanation by looking at the size and design is that they've designed something that can cover the South China Sea. To catch US carrier groups by surprise they need something with a lot of range and speed hence the size and and delta wing design (which is more efficient at higher speeds).
 

Afif

Experienced member
Moderator
Bangladesh Correspondent
DefenceHub Diplomat
Bangladesh Moderator
Messages
4,803
Reactions
98 9,209
Nation of residence
Bangladesh
Nation of origin
Bangladesh
Yeah what is truly 6th gen about those planes ?

Physically lacking traditional horizontal and vertical stabilizers with better stealth characteristics against lower bands.

Longer range, higher payload. Better sensors, fusion engine and networking.
 

Sanchez

Experienced member
Moderator
Think Tank Analyst
DefenceHub Diplomat
Messages
2,492
Reactions
85 11,429
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
Yeah what is truly 6th gen about those planes ?
Technically speaking there's no "6th gen fighter", and definitely there's no such thing as a "6th gen aircraft". They are all marketing gimmicks. Chinese don't even use the same American system for fighter generations.

Better low observability and better integrated avionics don't make an aircraft "6th gen".

-
Finally someone who speaks my language, names don't matter, capabilities do. If this indeed turns out to be what we think it is, it could be a game changer for the west pacific. Like J-20 is a long range high power missile truck with exceptional aerodynamic prowess to subdue Taiwanese airspace and keep control for longer durations, this might just be the long range high power new generation interceptor that is needed to counter enemy air power over pacific.

 
Last edited:

Soldier30

Experienced member
Russian Armed Forces News Editor
Messages
1,569
Reactions
9 855
Nation of residence
Russia
Nation of origin
Russia
A flight of the alleged prototype of the sixth generation fighter took place in China. During the flight, the prototype aircraft was accompanied by the Chinese J-20 fighter. It is worth noting that the sixth generation of aircraft should already be unmanned, according to some aviation experts. Previously, the alleged prototype was shown at an exhibition.
The aircraft does not have its own index yet, the J-XD or J-XD1 indexes were previously used. The prototype aircraft is created according to the "flying wing" scheme and does not have a tail unit. Presumably, the aircraft does not have hydraulics and all control is carried out by electrical equipment. The aircraft is equipped with flat nozzles of three engines.
Based on the size of the aircraft, it can be assumed that the takeoff weight of the aircraft is from 35 to 50 tons, the payload weight in the internal weapons compartments is about 10 tons, and the flight range is about 2,500 kilometers. The aircraft has a very low RCS, as a result of which it will be difficult to detect by radar.

 

TheInsider

Experienced member
Professional
Messages
4,131
Solutions
1
Reactions
35 14,691
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
GCAP is advertised as 6th gen but in fact it is 5.5 gen and mainly a KAAN competitor. It will have some 6th gen capabilities similar to 4.5th gen has some 5th gen capabilities.

This is my 6th Gen definition
No vertical stabilizers
Wide-band stealth
Advanced engines (variable cycle, turboramjet etc)
Much higher electrical power production compared to 5th gen.
Low latency high bandwidth ( at least 1gbps, latency lower than 50ms) low earth orbit satellite connection
10gbps secure inter-vehicle datalink (IVDL)
Integrated high-powered laser weapon/laser CIWS.
AI-based, can be remotely operated, and can do nearly every function without a pilot.
Next-generation data fusion with AI algorithms that makes use of sensors of the aircraft, data received from IVDL(assets in the formation) and through high bandwidth low latency satellite connection.
Sensing skin. Using some areas of the aircraft skin as sensors.

What caught my eye is that Chinese 6th gen prototypes are as close to a triangle as possible. I think the Chinese found good flight characteristics without vertical stabilizers with this kind of geometry.
 
Last edited:

TheInsider

Experienced member
Professional
Messages
4,131
Solutions
1
Reactions
35 14,691
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
Approximate 3D model. Tri-engine is confirmed. It is rumored that the aircraft is capable of flying faster than Mach 3 above 80000 (24-25km) feet. This means it will be nearly impossible to shoot down this aircraft with ground-based air defense systems if we also take its stealth into account. SM-2 will be useless, the US will probably deploy SM-6 against that.
 

Anmdt

Experienced member
Naval Specialist
Professional
Messages
5,544
Solutions
2
Reactions
119 25,172
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
Relax, USAF flew its 6th Gen Tech demonstrator back in 2020.


But yes, it is extremely impressive and only PRC has the ability to pull something like this now apart from USA.
China lacks in technology and experience, but has greater human and financial resources (as well as no accountability or budgetary constraints) allocated to these projects.

Yes they may be behind and following an inefficient development through brute force, but they do progress and eventually at this pace and accelaration, going to catch up and surpass US, West.
 

Turkic

Active member
Messages
32
Reactions
1 83
Nation of residence
Turkey
Nation of origin
Turkey
IMG_20241227_020322_906.jpg


Found this pic on telegram. Clearly proves the third engine if real.

Rear landing gears have 2 wheel each, I'm not wrong, right ?

Edit: Don't mind the question. It does have 2 wheels each, quite visible in other images.
 
Last edited:

Follow us on social media

Top Bottom