The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on Tuesday released a promotional video showcasing the advancements of the country's airborne radar technology, Global Times repored. Towards the end of the video, a computer-generated clip featuring three mysterious aircrafts flying in formation was featured.
According to Global Times report, analysts have speculated that this could be a concept of China's next-generation fighter jet, indicating China's ambitious plans to surpass the United States in the development of new warplanes.
The aircraft in the video closely resembles the J-20 stealth fighter jet but with distinct differences such as the absence of canards, tails, or fins, and bigger diamond-shaped wings, leading to the speculation that it may have a blended wing-body configuration. This design was also showcased by AVIC during the Airshow China 2022, held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in November 2022, where a concept model of a next-generation fighter jet with a tailless design was displayed.
Military aviation expert Fu Qianshao told the Global Times that many other countries are also in the process of developing next-generation fighter jets and tailless designs, similar to China's concept, are one of the most popular ones. The tailless design provides superior stealth capability in all directions and the blended wing-body design offers higher lift, longer range, and lower fuel consumption. However, the absence of vertical tails may result in reduced maneuverability unless other innovative designs or technologies such as thrust vectoring control-capable engines, split brake rudders, or other approaches are utilized.
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The United States is also working on its next-generation fighter jet, named the Next Generation Air Dominance project. According to Defense News, a computer-generated rendering by US military warplane contractor Lockheed Martin showed that the US's next-generation fighter jet might also adopt a tailless design.
Overall, based on the information available, China has initiated research and development for its next-generation fighter jet and is in a strong position to potentially surpass the US in this area. Fu believes that China has the confidence to achieve this goal.
