I'm up for it. For "
GP" FYI, I started the Jets and Planes...Thread 7yrs ago this month. Concerning the
J-20 I reported on it when it first showed, while then
SECDEF was in China and they did their famous test flight while he was there and beyond.
On
Pages 1-3 I posted stories on it
7 times in
Posts #3, #9, #10, #16, #19, #20 and #26. Taking into account my mind hasn't changed too much concerning the
J-20 from those early Posts.
Before I express that impression, let me start by saying that Russia has backed off their claim that the
T-50/PAK FA is a 5th GEN Fighter. That puts it in the class as a
4th GEN+/or+++ where the current
GRIPENS are covered in both "
+" categories. This is a
huge concession by the Russians. And Russian has been building quality fighters for decades now. Where China is concerned they're fairly new players in the field. I can't dismiss the comparison and it'll have some impact on my thinking.
That being said,
I don't play favorites out here and anyone who've followed my discussions concerning the
F-35 in general know this. So right at this moment and from what I've seen, I think the
J-20 TECHNICALLY sits as if you will, as a
3rd GEN ++ (FROM MY PERSPECTIVE ONLY.) fighter.
Please note for the record
in the refs out there, those "
+ signs" are
ONLY used for
4th GEN fighters.
And it's been a while since I've looked in on the fighter so I'll gladly put the spotlight back on the
J-20 and see what's changed since
JAN 2011.
For now I believe that is a valid start date for the
J-20. I'd be curious to see what they've learned since I first looked in on it. This stuff is right up my alley!
And I know exactly the first place to start looking at this from.
Regards,
Pat
