China unveils new futuristic fighter jets in surprise flyby

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post, via New Zealand Herald

China unveils new futuristic fighter jets in surprise flyby

By Cate Cadell
Washington Post·
28 Dec, 2024 01:48 AM
5 mins to read

Images of advanced aircraft cruising at low altitudes in China on Thursday have surprised analysts, who say they could mark the maiden flights of sixth-generation fighter jets, representing a major breakthrough for the country’s military.

Photos and videos originating on Chinese social media platforms and reposted to X on Thursday show large triangular aircraft making sweeping slow turns at a very low altitude. The images appear to show two different aircraft, one smaller than the other – both featuring a tailless, stealthy design suggesting they rely on advanced computational technology to be piloted.

Videos of the jets were trending on Friday on Weibo, a Chinese social media site similar to X, though their origin is unclear, and The Washington Post was unable to verify authenticity. In one video, the large fighter appears to be flanked by the fifth-generation J-20, China’s current top operational fighter jet.

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Read more: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/china-unveils-new-futuristic-fighter-jets-in-surprise-flyby/3SNGNJDHUBHJDD4ET65KZDUAJU/

[BumRushDaShow]

1. I was scanning through articles yesterday and ran into a fuzzy image of one of those Chinese aircraft

The below is a clear(er) pic of it -



From: https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/new-chinese-advanced-combat-aircraft-emerge-flight

Speculation was that it could be a bomber type, although I guess size would matter for that.

And good morning!

[brush]

13. Anything yet on it's effectiveness as a fighter? Top speed, manuverability, firepower?

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Haven't seen anything specifically

although I am sure the aviators are chomping at the bits with speculation. China apparently rolled out a pile of different military vehicles (aircraft and ships) the past week.

[3Hotdogs]

2. That's cool. But I bet they ain't got no Space Force like we got.

[FredGarvin]

3. Looks Gen 6

Cool looking plane. Most likely generation 6.

China invested heavily in education and it shows.

Meanwhile in Dumerica...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. And invested heavily in espionage. No way to know at this point how much that might have played a role. . . . nt

[C0RI0LANUS]

6. You said it, Bernardo de la Paz. Su Bin AKA Stephen Su did a lot of damage to US national security.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chinese-national-who-conspired-hack-us-defense-contractors-systems-sentenced-46-months

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/espionage-secret-behind-chinas-new-stealth-fighter-196439

Wiki organized a list of known Chinese spies convicted in the US:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_spy_cases_in_the_United_States

[GB_RN]

12. This.

I see a lot of similarities between that thing and the F-22 Raptor and the F-35. It looks to me like an F-22 and an F-35 got together and had a child. There’s not much that they genuinely build as original design. Seriously, why invest that level of money in an effort, when stealing designs and already proven tech (and then picking/choosing the best pieces/parts) is a lot cheaper? They also buy crap: Like their aircraft carrier and many of their subs were originally Russian/Soviet built.

[HereForTheParty]

5. We spend far more per student than China

nm

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. So? US spends twice as much per capita on health care than developed nations and get below top ten results

Spending on education is not comparable, no small part because of salary differentials.

[HereForTheParty]

8. We spend 6.0% of GDP, China 4.1%

And they are a poorer country per capita. I don't see any way to slice this that concludes investment is the reason.

[FredGarvin]

9. Sad aint it?

China graduates more engineers and scientists than the world combined.

Their infrastructure is clear evidence of that.

[Lonestarblue]

10. US innovation for the pst few years has seemed to focus more on social media apps and how to monetize private data.

We may soon be losing our innovation edge.