Is it thought J-20 supercruise with WS-10? I had thought this was something that required WS-15, though I admit to only occasionally skimming the J-20 thread.

What the PRC UAVs do seem to have is augmented turbofans, which means they can accelerate in a hurry when they need to compared to something like YFQ-42/44.
 
However, I think there are too many factors affecting the effectiveness of CCA launched AAM — many of which remain entirely unknown, such as their radars, target acquisition algorithms,AAM itself and others — that discussing them could turn into a lengthy discussion.
I was just explaining what he was saying in that comment, which had nothing to do with target acquisition at all. It was more just general theory of how fighter aircraft defend against missiles. The rest of it - I have no dog in the game.
 
Any indication of the manufacturers of all these UAVs? Chengdu/Shenyang?
No idea, except we can try to guess based on their configurations. Type A looks more akin to SAC J-50, while Type B more akin to CAC J-36/J-20 blend. Of course it could be the other way around, or could be another company altogether. I imagine aerodynamic research is widely shared with all companies.
 
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Is it thought J-20 supercruise with WS-10? I had thought this was something that required WS-15, though I admit to only occasionally skimming the J-20 thread.

What the PRC UAVs do seem to have is augmented turbofans, which means they can accelerate in a hurry when they need to compared to something like YFQ-42/44.
Any J-20 equipped with WS-10C could supercruise, later WS-10C and C2 is likely to reach or even supercede legacy WS-15 specs. WS-15 project was completely overhauled sometime in the late 2010s.
 
It seems to extend to the MLG bay. What else can it be if not a bay door? How long is it?
 
It's very reasonable for a PL-15/16 class AAM if it's 4.3 metres long. We need some better belly shots of Type A to see what's happening there too. Type B seems to have a fairly conventional J-20/35 style belly bay.
 
View attachment 783980
There's a little EO bump on this aircraft, it's off center and only present on this side, anyone more familiar with drones would want to take a guess what this is for?
Looks like it's pointed up. I wonder if it's for satellite laser communications for OTH, direct control. (The presence of an EOTS fairing would suggest it's remotely piloted.)
 
Looks like it's pointed up. I wonder if it's for satellite laser communications for OTH, direct control. (The presence of an EOTS fairing would suggest it's remotely piloted.)

Does China even have a constellation of optically connected satellites? I was under the impression this was fairly new technology, with Starlink being the only fully operational example and others racing to catch up.

ETA: also I cannot imagine direct satellite connectivity is going to work for air to air missions, even with low latency LEO constellations.
 
The tailed lambda wing one is PS, it's obviously a mish-mash of Type A and Type E (53432 and 53636).

Initially i had doubts about the tarped one, but it's possible it might be the one spotted at SAC in satellite pics early this year.
 
Does China even have a constellation of optically connected satellites? I was under the impression this was fairly new technology, with Starlink being the only fully operational example and others racing to catch up.

ETA: also I cannot imagine direct satellite connectivity is going to work for air to air missions, even with low latency LEO constellations.
Accroding to some credible recent revelations,these two UADFs are entirely oprated by AI.It is said that they even utilize their advantageous positionsto initiate attack ahead of allied human pilots
 
Reading some of what comes out of the chinese grapevine about the UADFs, about testing and how they might be used, and adding a bit of my interpretation/speculation over that, these things look absolutely scary. Frigging sky terminators or EDIs if we go by such lore references. I would not want to be in the shoes of a fighter pilot having to face these things in combat.
 
Accroding to some credible recent revelations,these two UADFs are entirely oprated by AI.It is said that they even utilize their advantageous positionsto initiate attack ahead of allied human pilots
THey don't seem to have wvr weapons though.

Also, being frank, if PLAAF would've been sure about their ability to fly in airspace with others - we'd see it in the air, not on truck.

Beating humans by following ideal calculated trajectories isn't that surprising; problem for now is still air traffic management, i.e
flying and maneuvering safely together.
 
THey don't seem to have wvr weapons though.

Also, being frank, if PLAAF would've been sure about their ability to fly in airspace with others - we'd see it in the air, not on truck.

Beating humans by following ideal calculated trajectories isn't that surprising; problem for now is still air traffic management, i.e
flying and maneuvering safely together.
They are still new technology, you don't fly new technology at major events where a bunch of civilians and VIPs are present even if they prove themselves in trials. GJ-2 is extremely mature and has been flying for over a decade yet still only appears on trucks. Actual flying demo is for airshows and what not.
 
They are still new technology, you don't fly new technology at major events where a bunch of civilians and VIPs are present even if they prove themselves in trials
Then ultimately they still don't trust them enough. This is a very major issue with CCAs, nothing to laugh at (note that "just" an unmanned fighter is achievable on 1950s tech... just not worth it).

Parade is a military show, after all.
 
Finally it came out it was a fake (including yet another one) so I corrected this chart accordingly ...

View attachment 784466
Do you think it could be plausible that the Type F UCAV is a known mock up that just hasn't been fully assembled (presumably for transport before the parade) and thus missing, for example, vertical stabilizers?
 
Then ultimately they still don't trust them enough. This is a very major issue with CCAs, nothing to laugh at (note that "just" an unmanned fighter is achievable on 1950s tech... just not worth it).

Parade is a military show, after all.
Unmanned fighter was not achievable with 1950s tech, in fact unmanned fighter was unachievable until very recently. Last time I checked AI only became capable and stable enough to allow fully autonomous combat early this decade with the US Skyborg program and the "Zhi Sheng" program on the Chinese side.
 
THey don't seem to have wvr weapons though.

Also, being frank, if PLAAF would've been sure about their ability to fly in airspace with others - we'd see it in the air, not on truck.

Beating humans by following ideal calculated trajectories isn't that surprising; problem for now is still air traffic management, i.e
flying and maneuvering safely together.

To be fair they didn’t let quadcopters fly either. I think it is more of an issue of protocol than indication of platform maturity.

Reading some of what comes out of the chinese grapevine about the UADFs, about testing and how they might be used, and adding a bit of my interpretation/speculation over that, these things look absolutely scary. Frigging sky terminators or EDIs if we go by such lore references. I would not want to be in the shoes of a fighter pilot having to face these things in combat.
The skill gap vs human pilots is not the biggest concern — that would be reaction time and the fact that it would just keep on coming.
 
A surprise spotted on the Changchun Air Show 2025 via bsdnf/SDF:

„Flying wing drones from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, intake design and the arched fuselage seems to be to make way for the weapon bay.“

UCAV UAV testbed - Chinese Academy of Sciences - 2.png UCAV UAV testbed - Chinese Academy of Sciences - 1.png
 
Another drone spotted by satellite at Malan, either CH-7 or maybe a development of it (or possibly of course, unrelated).

https://www.twz.com/air/large-cranked-kite-flying-wing-drone-appears-at-chinese-test-base
wzxgjx comparison en.png
It's too big for a CH-7 or anything remotely based on it, CH-7 is easily dwarfed by this thing as its wingspan is only 22m. IMO, based on the look, design and the fact they already have a larger ISR drone makes it very likely a strike drone. I suppose it could probably carry similar payloads as the B-21 with similar range except it probably has a slightly longer bay.
1758259342988.png
Scaled comparison against the B-21 assuming B-21 has a wingspan of 46m.

Images via SDF, courtesy of 00CuriousObsever and Blitzo
 
14 threshold stripes?!


View attachment 785266

Hummm...

View attachment 785268


Read more here or here.

The article from the warzone estimates it to have a wingspan of 137ft or about 42 meters, which looks right to me.

This thing isn't small.

In fact if it is a UCAV, this is probably the largest combat aircraft clean sheet design that the PRC has ever developed to date (the other 52m flying wing UAV is likely an ISR aircraft)
 

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