As we all know, the design of the J-20 is obviously inclined toward air combat. In addition, the FH97 also uses the V-tail and Lambda wing that take into account both stealth and maneuverability, so it is almost certain that the FH97A is a drone specially designed for air combat.

At the 2022 Zhuhai Air Show, a drone called FH97A (Feihong 97A) uses a dual release layout and DSI air intake on both sides. It is very similar to J20, which has attracted a lot of attention. As we all know, the design of the J-20 is obviously inclined toward air combat. In addition, the FH97 also uses the V-tail and Lambda wing that take into account both stealth and maneuverability, so it is almost certain that the FH97A is a drone specially designed for air combat. FH97A evolved from FH97 developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which made its debut at the 2021 Zhuhai Air Show. Coincidentally, a drone called MQ28A (nicknamed "Ghost Bat") jointly developed by Boeing Australia Branch and the Australian government is very similar to the FH97A. Although the former is a single-engine design, it also uses a V-tail and a Lambda wing, and both air intakes are also on both sides.

MQ28A first showed off its full-size model at the Avalon Air Show in Australia in 2019, and on February 27, 2021, it successfully made its first flight at the Wumera Air Force Base in Australia. Although the development progress of the MQ28A was several years earlier than the FH97A, it can be seen from its joint development by Boeing branch and Australia that this kind of drone is not very important. However, after the appearance of FH97A, similar, the status of MQ28A is likely to rise and may even become the main force of the US military in the future unmanned fighter . It is no accident that China and the United States will launch FH97A and MQ28A with similar appearances at almost the same time period. They are inevitable products of future air combat needs and artificial intelligence development to a certain stage.

FH97A and MQ28A are the unmanned wingmen of the J-20 and F35 respectively. There is no doubt that they will fight first. So by comparing the performance of FH97A and MQ28A, we can get a glimpse of the results of the first round of the future Sino-US air combat competition. Let’s compare the air combat performance of these two unmanned wingmen:

1, range payload. MQ28A is 11.7 meters long and has a range of 3,700 kilometers. A typical feature of it is that the front fuselage has a modular nose cone with a length of 2.6 meters. The volume of the nose cone is 0.15 cubic meters. Through the modular design of , different reconnaissance, detection and early warning equipment can be quickly replaced according to user needs and actual tasks. FH97A showed a 1:1.5 model at this year's Zhuhai Air Show, which means that the actual machine size is 1.5 times that of the model. But even this reduced model is very large, which is not inferior to the Rainbow 7 next to it. You should know that the latter has a length of 10 meters, a wingspan of 22 meters, and a take-off weight of 13 tons. Considering that it has to be enlarged by 1.5 times, the actual size of the FH97A is very considerable. In addition, through the promotional video, the J-20 can also make a relatively objective estimate of the size of the FH97A by reference. In short, all signs indicate that the FH97A is a large unmanned fighter with a take-off weight of about 10 tons and a range exceeding the MQ-28A. Only with this size can it serve as the "air ammunition" of the J-20.

Speaking of ammunition, FH97A uses a rare "drawer" type bomb bay, that is, there is no rudder door, launch frame and related operating devices. It only uses "drawers" divided into many grids to accommodate the missile . It looks a bit similar to the container launch rack of the Hongqi 10 in appearance. The "drawer" can be pushed out from the belly of the FH97A during launch. The space utilization rate of this design is much higher than the traditional hatch and launch frame layout, and can carry 8 small intelligent infrared air-to-air missiles. The MQ28A still uses the traditional hatch door and launch frame design, which is complex and heavy, and is not suitable for unmanned fighters.

2, invisible ability. Both use V-tail and Lambda wing with good stealth performance, but the FH97A effectively blocks the intake with strong forward reflection through the DSI bulge. However, the only drawback is that its two engines use circular tail nozzle , while the MQ28A uses invisible nozzle. Therefore, the forward stealth capability of FH97A exceeds that of MQ28A, while the backward stealth capability is somewhat inferior. However, compared with fifth-generation aircraft, unmanned fighters are obviously consumable combat platforms. Once the situation is severe, they can only move forward bravely like pawns crossing the river, not retreating. At this time, the backward stealth performance is not so important. Moreover, poor stealth capabilities at the rear are not all disadvantages, which is conducive to the positioning of the fifth-generation aircraft of unmanned fighters.

3, situational awareness capability. The head of the FH97 has an radar cover like the J-20, and the edge is zigzag. It can be determined that airspeed tube has never appeared. It can be equipped with active or passive phased array radar . Moreover, FH97A's EOTS ( photoelectric aiming system ) was moved from the bottom of the FH97's nose to the top of the nose, making the field of view wider. The J-20 and F35 have to design the EOTS under the nose because the cockpit is occupied by the cockpit and cannot be sacrificed at the expense of stealth performance. The EOTS is designed in front of the cockpit like the fourth-generation aircraft, so they have to design the EOTS under the nose. Through the phased array radar of the nose and the EOTS above the nose, the FH97A is able to provide a field of view similar to that of the fighter pilot to the drone operator.

, but MQ28A does not have a similar design, only a modular cabin with a length of 2.6 meters and is used to accommodate various loads. This is more like a traditional drone like Global Hawk . As for the various matching sensors, it is still in the development stage. Therefore, although MQ28A appears earlier, its maturity is far less than FH97A.

4, maneuverability. Both have both air intakes on both sides, but the FH97A adopts a dual-engine design, and does not hesitate to sacrifice the backward stealth effect. It uses a circular nozzle in exchange for greater thrust. Therefore, the FH97A has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, which can exert its maneuverability advantage that the drone is far stronger than the manned.

5, speed. The maximum speed of MQ28A is only 1100 km/h, and it does not exceed the speed of sound. Obviously, at this speed, it is very difficult to keep up with the F35 and not fall behind. The FH97A, which uses dual release layouts and circular nozzles, may not only exceed the speed of sound, but may also fly over the transonic speed to reach the maximum flight speed of Mach 1.4 of the L15 trainer, because only in this way can it not become a burden to the J-20.

6, long machine command ability. In addition to the performance of the drone itself, the command and guidance of the long-distance aircraft is also very critical. Not to mention the data links that match the J-20 and F35, it is predictable that the range of air-to-air missile is getting farther and farther than the remote control distance of the long aircraft to the unmanned wingman. This means that long-range air-to-air missiles can attack fifth-generation aircraft commanded in the rear by following remote control signals. At this time, the single-seat F35 not only needs to command drones to combat, but also avoid getting rid of incoming air-to-air missiles. In this case, the J-20S with two pilots has a great advantage.

7, degree of intelligence. Even if the command and guidance ability of fifth-generation aircraft is strong, there are dedicated people to control drones, as the saying goes: one mind cannot be used for two purposes. In addition, the battlefield situation is ever-changing, the guide can only concentrate on commanding a drone for air combat at the same time. Those unconcerned unmanned fighters can only rely on themselves to fight. In this scenario, its intelligence level is very critical. Judging from the development level of , the unmanned combat platform of , both sides, the artificial intelligence of the two is at a comparable level.

In short, FH97A surpasses MQ28A in range load, forward stealth capability, situational awareness capability, speed, maneuverability and long-aircraft command capability, and also has advantages in maturity, which reflects that China and the United States have a gap in the development level of unmanned fighters. Therefore, even if the United States strives to develop unmanned fighters after being stimulated by FH97A, the situation of losing on the starting line will be difficult to reverse. After the practical use of unmanned fighters, the air battle between the J-20 and the F35 will largely depend on drone air combat. The fifth-generation pilots who have lost their drone air combat will have to use their flesh and blood to fight the opponent's drone air combat.