Featured Russia Teases 'Fundamentally New' Military Aircraft to Be Unveiled

[Piotr]

New Russian plane will reportedly have integrated electro-optical targeting system which is no surprise.

https://ria.ru/20210717/istrebitel-1741670150.html

 

[Gomig-21]

Since The Checkmate has the V-shaped tail that would provide a certain degree of yaw and roll control..the additional yaw and roll control required for superior maneuverability is likely to be provided by the engine's steering technology.. meaning the 3D thrust vectoring controls that enable improved manoeuvrability at high speeds and altitudes?

That seems to be the main idea for having the TVC on the single engine. I think it's also assisting the aircraft's pitch control simply because it appears not to have any horizontal stabilizers. It's just interesting that it will be the first Russian AC with a single TVC nozzle. They've mastered the technology on dual engine aircraft since the inception of TVC, but never on a single engine. Add to it the lack of H-stabs and we really have a very new platform in several aspects.

 

[The SC]

That seems to be the main idea for having the TVC on the single engine. I think it's also assisting the aircraft's pitch control simply because it appears not to have any horizontal stabilizers. It's just interesting that it will be the first Russian AC with a single TVC nozzle. They've mastered the technology on dual engine aircraft since the inception of TVC, but never on a single engine. Add to it the lack of H-stabs and we really have a very new platform in several aspects.

China did test it on the J-10B one engine fighter:

The secret-sauce in the J-10B at Zhuhai was its powerplant: instead of the usual Russian AL-31F(N) turbofan, it boasted a WS-10B Taihang engine normally reserved for use on the larger twin-engine Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter.
More importantly, this particular Taihang (labeled the WS-10G in some sources) was modified with three-dimensional Thrust Vector Controls (TVC) allowing the pilot to redirect the engine’s thrust by tilting the exhaust nozzles side by side as well as up and down.
This enhances the jet’s ability to adjust pitch, roll and yaw, granting the J-10B super-maneuverable flight characteristics, in which the pilot retains control of the aircraft during a stall, unlike for a conventional plane.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...best-fighters-powerful-new-jet-engines-129712

 

[Gomig-21]

China did test it on the J-10B one engine fighter:

The secret-sauce in the J-10B at Zhuhai was its powerplant: instead of the usual Russian AL-31F(N) turbofan, it boasted a WS-10B Taihang engine normally reserved for use on the larger twin-engine Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter.
More importantly, this particular Taihang (labeled the WS-10G in some sources) was modified with three-dimensional Thrust Vector Controls (TVC) allowing the pilot to redirect the engine’s thrust by tilting the exhaust nozzles side by side as well as up and down.
This enhances the jet’s ability to adjust pitch, roll and yaw, granting the J-10B super-maneuverable flight characteristics, in which the pilot retains control of the aircraft during a stall, unlike for a conventional plane.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...best-fighters-powerful-new-jet-engines-129712

And so did the US. They tested their own version of TVC on 3 different platforms, the X-31, the F/A-18 HARV and the F-16 MATV. But interestingly enough, it never saw a real practical use for operating it on any of its single or even dual engine aircraft.

 

[Gomig-21]

New Russian plane will reportedly have integrated electro-optical targeting system which is no surprise.

View attachment 763246

View attachment 763247
https://ria.ru/20210717/istrebitel-1741670150.html

Hard to tell if that specific pic is photoshopped or not, especially when it bears the image of HMS Defender lol. It's also in a rather odd location to the right side of the ventral fuselage, but you never know. Russians have been known to do things differently than everyone else so the location wouldn't surprise me terribly. But that specific one with the image looks to be doctored to some extent.

 

[The SC]

And so did the US. They tested their own version of TVC on 3 different platforms, the X-31, the F/A-18 HARV and the F-16 MATV. But interestingly enough, it never saw a real practical use for operating it on any of its single or even dual engine aircraft.

They say:

"But the value of incorporating heavier and more expensive TVC engines remains debated in Western aviation circles, because performing such extreme maneuvers drains away the jet’s energy in terms of speed and altitude that can be traded for speed. That means that a tight maneuver may pay off against an immediate threat, but then leave the TVC-equipped jet in question in a ponderous state in which it would struggle to evade follow-up attacks."

From same article posted before..

 

[Frostbite]

VN may buy this new aircraft if we can get a better version than the one Russia sell to CN. Otherwhile, its will have No use.

The Chinese have the J-31. And this LMFS will be a perfect match to go against it.

 

[Deino]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416604891276103682

I have to admit, the more I think about it, the more I like the approach of this "thing" (and that's not meant in a negative way). Su-57 and J-20 are hardly for sale, too large and too expensive, F-35 is even more expensive, more complex and above all not accessible to many countries for political reasons ... and everything else like JF-17, Tejas, J-10, Gripen etc. are either too small and therefore often inefficient or, like the good old F-16, slowly out of date. From that point of view, this "thing" could play the role of a modern F-16, or indeed what the USAF did with their concept of Multi-Role fighter (MR-X) F-16 Replacement ("4.5 Generation Fighter").

 

[The SC]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416604891276103682

I have to admit, the more I think about it, the more I like the approach of this "thing" (and that's not meant in a negative way). Su-57 and J-20 are hardly for sale, too large and too expensive, F-35 is even more expensive, more complex and above all not accessible to many countries for political reasons ... and everything else like JF-17, Tejas, J-10, Gripen etc. are either too small and therefore often inefficient or, like the good old F-16, slowly out of date. From that point of view, this "thing" could play the role of a modern F-16, or indeed what the USAF did with their concept of Multi-Role fighter (MR-X) F-16 Replacement ("4.5 Generation Fighter").

It is their new MIG-21.. 5th generation

 

[Irfan Baloch]

…

View attachment 762686

looking at first picutre is reason why i mentioned that it reminds me of chinese discarded FC 31 and American F35 cross

that also brings me to a video from a Russian youtuber mellinium7 who explains why all stealth planes share close resemblance.

 

[casual]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416604891276103682

I have to admit, the more I think about it, the more I like the approach of this "thing" (and that's not meant in a negative way). Su-57 and J-20 are hardly for sale, too large and too expensive, F-35 is even more expensive, more complex and above all not accessible to many countries for political reasons ... and everything else like JF-17, Tejas, J-10, Gripen etc. are either too small and therefore often inefficient or, like the good old F-16, slowly out of date. From that point of view, this "thing" could play the role of a modern F-16, or indeed what the USAF did with their concept of Multi-Role fighter (MR-X) F-16 Replacement ("4.5 Generation Fighter").

it'll be a while before this bird is ready. in the mean time we could be seeing the KF-X and FC-31 enter the market.

 

[Syed_Adeel]

With the increasing Procurement, operational and maintenance cost of 5th gen fighters, its a favourable step to produce and operate a single engine light to medium weight fighter jet.

 

[Ali_Baba]

it'll be a while before this bird is ready. in the mean time we could be seeing the KF-X and FC-31 enter the market.

It really depends on what level of mature systems they place on this platform, the world is moving to modular platforms and modular systems, so it will be interesting to see what approach they take with this new platform. The plane looks larger than the current suite of JF17s, F16s(!), giving it potentially more payload capabilities and the mockups "so far" suggest a decent size for internal carriage of AAM's. The engine inlet design seems to be cater for both the needs of the powerful engine and also the need to have a large internal bay capacity. Very efficent and pragmmatic approach, if true.

The lack of a single engine lineup was quite a large hole in Russia's overseas sales capabilities - but it seems that Russia was working on addressing this gap and we can now see how. This will make life difficult for the JF17, and also J10CE sales. The J-35 is not an answer as a twin engined jet carrys a higher sticker price straight off the bat. How can China respond to this? Will be difficult as Russia still has a large edge, when it comes to engines.

Just 2 more days to go before the "hijab/veil" comes off and we can get down to "business".

 

[redtom]

Wait to see what surprises Russia can bring us.

 

[Deino]

I have to admit that it exceeds all my expectations!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416752328909238275

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416751162645172227