Tell me, who else is not guessing in here?
But there are ways to decipher the mystery. The slimest tell tale indications that China deliberately gave away as a clue.
1. Sound of the engine (Which they cannot hide anyway)
2. The vertical thrust without utilizing AB. (This is done deliberately)
However if one stick to an argument for a credible source as a form of verification then it will probably not happened until China offer the J-20 for export.
Right now, it remains TOP SECRET.
And for those F35 fanboys who believe that the single engine F35 is all it takes to counter the J-20, think again.
Even the experts can the Pentagon is in a state of trepidation as this point as they expects the J-20 to be in service only after 2020 and more like 2015. The F-35 fanboys will be in for a big surprise but I won't be.
That is why I find Asok postings very interesting.
Thanks bro. Asok.
Why is the Pentagon planning to revive the production of the F-22 Raptor if the F35 Lightning is such a superior stealth fighter?
Thanks Bro,
@CAPRICORN-88.
Truth sometimes stare in our face. But we are so ingrained in our out dated thinking, that we can not change. Someone has said that "Science advances by one death at a time". Because the old timers simply have trouble accepting the new theory, despite mounting evidences.
China will never release the true performance figures of J-20 to the public. It's TOP SECRET.
We can only guess. Nothing wrong with that. I am just having fun. My life is not depend on whether I am right on the number or not.
1.) The sound of the engine was a big indicator that J-20, version 2001 has a new engine that is neither WS-10 nor Al-31FN. That was obvious to a lot of people.
2.) The white nozzles J-20, version 2001 was another indicator, but was ignored by most people.
3.) I didn't catch on the fact that J-20 could climb vertically with Dry Thrust alone, until someone pointed out at the China Air show. If we look at the old videos, J-20 has done that before.
4.) I also didn't catch on to the fact, until recently, that neither WS-10X nor AL-31FN could enable J-20 to do Supersonic Cruise and thus has Supersonic Maneuverability. That these two requirements are part of the 4S requirements of a 5th generation fighter that J-20 is aim for.
Without a engine that is sufficiently powerful enough to enable Supersonic Cruise, a big part of J-20 flight envelope is missing. It's structural strength will not be able to be sufficiently tested to the maximum, and its highly complex digital Flight Control System will not be able to test the Supersonic Maneuverability at all.
5.) If you think that is no problem, one could always test that later, when WS-15 is available, by loosen a few screws and pop in the new engine. And in the meantime, lets produce several hundreds of J-20. Then, I really think you have no idea what you are talking about.
6.) All of the above could be easily missed by outsiders, who are not informed about aeronautical engineering. This is not an indication of having low IQ, just an indication that we don't have the experiences.
7.) The vertical climb, without AB, at the China Airshow is an unmistakable sign that the engine CANNOT be WS-10X nor AL-31FN.
8.) There is only three candidates that China could use to power J-20, namely, WS-10X, AL-31FN, and WS-15.
9.) Now, that WS-10X, AL-31FN has been eliminated by the vertical climb demo, we have only the WS-15 left.
10.) There is no evidence that this engine could not be WS-15. Evidence or reports like it's canceled, its delayed, it's unreliable, its performances failed to meet the requirements, etc . . . are entirely absence.
11.) Now, if there are such strong and persistent reports that those negatives are true. Then, we have to also left out WS-15. But there isn't any.
12.) So, now, that we have eliminated the other two possibilities, we have got the only choice left, that J-20 is running WS-15.
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes.