According to relevant data released last year, the global production of fifth-generation aircraft has exceeded a thousand, including China, the United States, Russia, Britain, Australia, Japan and South Korea, and more than 20 countries are equipped with fifth-generation aircraft. This also means that the global air force has officially entered the era of fifth-generation aircraft. At first glance, it seems that the proliferation of fifth-generation aircraft is quite fast. However, in fact, there are only three companies in China, the United States and Russia that can independently develop and produce fifth-generation aircraft. In particular, China's J-20 has attracted strong attention from all parties since its first flight in 2011. Previously Chengdu Aircraft announced that it would build the fourth J-20 pulse production line, and the annual output is expected to increase to 50 aircraft. The total number of Chinese Air Force equipment exceeds 200+, indicating that the J-20 has become increasingly mature.
However, China has not stopped exploring the potential of the J-20. The two-seat J-20 developed by Chengdu Aircraft has attracted strong attention from the outside world. The Indian media "Eurasia Times" recently published a report entitled "China's J20 "Leading" F-22 and F-35 fighter jets will have a two-seat variant to control loyal wingmen " article, the article believes that the public appearance of China's new J-20 is tantamount to revealing one thing to the outside world, that is, the two-seat design of the new J-20 will become the world's first two-seat fifth-generation aircraft, equipped with loyal wingmen After that, it will be ahead of similar American F-22 and F-35 fighter jets.
The United States had the idea to launch a two-seat version when it was developing and producing the F-22. Since then, it has enlarged the size and tonnage of the FB-22 stealth two-seat fighter-bomber based on the F-22. According to Lockheed Martin's design, the maximum takeoff weight of FB-22 will increase from 32 tons to 45 tons of F-22, and the range will increase to 1,600 miles (3 times that of F-22). The FN-22 also inherits the supersonic cruise capability of the F-22, has a larger weapons bay, and can carry 30 114-kg small diameter bombs (SDB), 22 more than the F-22. The FB-22 uses the mature technology of the F-22, so it has relatively low costs and risks.
At the beginning of its development, the FB-22 was actually somewhat intended to replace the FB-111 "Aardvark" fighter-bomber, and somewhat meant to be a "regional bomber". At the beginning of the 21st century when the FB-22 appeared, the U.S. Air Force, which had experienced the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, found that the multi-purpose fighter jets represented by the F-15 had a short range and were too dependent on tankers. The U.S. Air Force does not have access to several key bases in nearby theaters, so the strike effect of the multi-purpose fighter will not be guaranteed. The shortcoming of multi-purpose fighter jets that cannot linger over the battlefield for a long time also makes it difficult for them to strike time-sensitive targets.
In addition, multi-purpose fighter jets also have the problem of small bomb carrying capacity and low efficiency when attacking multiple targets. Therefore, the U.S. Air Force urgently needs a high-speed bomber between the B-21 stealth bomber and the F-15 fighter-bomber, which can carry sufficient payload and has the ability to strike mobile targets and time-sensitive targets.
FB-22, a project that was once promising by the U.S. Air Force, became useless as the U.S. military was deeply involved in the "security war" in the Middle East , and was finally canceled in 2006. It can be seen that the combat positioning of the American FB-22 fighter-bomber is more inclined to the bomber . In comparison, the J-20 is much luckier. With the rise of the "loyal wingman" concept and the development of drone technology, the two-seat J-20 will be greatly improved in both air combat and ground strikes.
In recent years, the US military has gradually shifted to a great power competition strategy. The Pentagon believes that potential opponents are currently investing billions of dollars in upgrading surface-to-air missiles defense networks, which makes it difficult for the United States and its allies to enter its airspace during wartime. This is true even for stealth fifth-generation machines like F-35. The so-called "loyal wingman" concept was proposed by the U.S. Air Force in 2015. Based on the "loyal wingman" concept of "manned aircraft/unmanned aerial vehicle grouping technology", the fifth-generation fighter and the unmanned fourth-generation fighter jet are combined. Generations of fighter jets are combined into a formation, taking advantage of the information advantages of fifth-generation aircraft to become combat network nodes, giving full play to the mobility and sufficient firepower of fourth-generation aircraft, thus greatly enhancing the lethality of both in air combat.To put it simply, it is the long-winger grouping combat method that the air forces of various countries attach great importance to. However, it is an unmanned fighter or drone that cooperates with the manned lead aircraft .
The U.S. Air Force believes that in most extremely dangerous situations, a drone can play a penetration role in front of a manned fighter aircraft and undertake the task of searching and destroying targets, thereby effectively ensuring the survival of the fifth-generation aircraft and avoiding being attacked by the opponent. A powerful blow. Moreover, the "Loyal Wingman" has advantages in manufacturing and operating costs. Its procurement cost is only equivalent to 20% of the F-35C, and its use support cost is only equivalent to 30% of the F-18C/D. Even as a consumable item, it can bear.
With the development of the concept of "loyal wingman", most military experts believe that the ability to command drones in combat has become one of the standards for sixth-generation aircraft. Currently, China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia and other countries are actively studying the concept of "loyal wingman". Judging from the appearance of the two-seat version of the J-20, it is obvious that the J-20 is at the forefront of the fifth-generation aircraft and has pioneered the fifth-generation aircraft. The first of its kind, a crucial step was taken.
In terms of "Loyal Wingman" drones, the United States has the "Valkyrie" XQ-58, Australia has the ATS Air Force Grouping System drone, the UK has the "Thor" drone, and Russia has the S-70B "Hunter" drone. machine. China is also unwilling to lag behind. Previously, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation publicly unveiled the FH-97 "Phenom" medium-range and high-speed surveillance drone at the Zhuhai Air Show.
According to public information, the FH-97 is a new generation of high-speed stealth multi-purpose UAV system. It adopts a stealth shape similar to the J-20 and is equipped with distributed synthetic aperture radar and intelligent skin. The antenna sensing system realizes a 360° full-coverage optical and electronic reconnaissance system under stealth conditions. It can quickly reach the theater within a 1,000-kilometer combat radius and implement all-day, all-weather, and all-territory battlefield situation awareness for more than 6 hours. and precision strike capabilities. The Indian media pointed out in the article that the J-20 is likely to operate with the FH-97 drone in the future, and said that in the "loyal wingman" project, the J-20 is already ahead of F22 and the F-35.
Some people may ask, compared with the discontinued FB-22 project, the takeoff weight, range, and dwell time of the J-20 two-seater version are not as good as the FB-22's "PPT index". Does this mean that the J-20 is inferior to the FB-20? What about FB-22?
You don’t have to worry about this problem. The positioning of these two fighters is different. The combat positioning of the FB-22 is a "regional bomber" that is more focused on bombing missions, while the J-20 two-seat version focuses on the increasing number of fifth-generation aircraft equipment in the world, and the air combat situation has become evenly matched, so it must be broken Conventional thinking, using new technologies to develop new ideas, and seeking to break the balance of power in the fifth-generation aircraft. The J-20 two-seat version will play an important role as the core of campaign-level tactics in future air battles.
Considering that China has a large number of J-5/6 UAVs, in the future they can be combined with the J-20 two-seat drones and controlled by the rear-seat weapon operator, thereby effectively consuming enemy ammunition and saving themselves as much as possible.
