Why the Chinese Stealth J-20 might be not what you think

Check out NOT WHAT YOU THINK
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SO I bet you read the last description for my video and now am looking here for a easter egg, something below the line that you can tell your friends at work or school. But here's the thing. They won't believe you! You will read this and then as your sleeping (or lack of sleep because your so excited) I'll edit this out and they will think your nuts.

"Found and Explained didn't write you a personal note in the description, are you crazy?" but here's the rub, I will know, and I will know that you know I know, and that is ever so more sweeter. But hey, don't tell anyone else, this can be our little secret ;)

The rest is just for the algorithm to boost the video over all those other videos :)

USA, Europe and Russia have been dominating the world of aviation for decades, but in recent years, a new competitor has emerged.

meet the new power from the east!

The Chinese 5th gen jet has already entered operational service and it´s numbers are rapidly growing.

But is it any good or just a cheap copy of its counterparts?

Stick with me today to get answers to why the J-20 might be… not what you think.
The J-20 story begins with the J-XX program back in the 90s.

It was, at the time, a very ambitious program started by Chinese government to procure next gen fighter.

Why was it very ambitious you may ask?

Well, to put it simply, China was so far from actually successfully building this kind of aircraft

Namely because:
They didn’t have the know how
They didn´t have the engines
And definitely no experience with stealth technology

The only thing they had was vast experience with copying soviet aircraft during the cold war and that age old essential ingrenent - money. But the fall of their long term ally – the soviet union, would prove to be detrimental for their success.
The first step towards new fighter was acquiring almost all top tier Soviet tech from the new formed, desperate for cash, Russian and Ukrainian governments during the 90s and early 2000s.

The second was huge data leak of F-35 documentation orchestrated by Chinese hackers back in 2009.

To sum it up, the Chinese gathered the most they could and planned to build their new jet with experiences from both sides. A perfect blend of east and west.

After being chosen over Shenyang in 2008, Chengdu aircraft corporation unveiled their first prototype in 2011.

But the world welcomed it with a lot of skepticism.

[dikaixu]

Can't understand why people think this is a copy of F22. Aerodynamics and control are FUNDAMENTALLY different for this canard and delta wing design. Only similarity is the straight edges due to stealth needs.

[benbo]

Gosh 5th gen look absolutely gorgeous regardless of nationality

[siroyiryuu]

All of a sudden, every Youtuber has become an aircraft expert with a doctor's degree in aviation, and can also calculate RCS with the naked eye. Perhaps this is the success of American public education.

[xzdrtxyzxvn]

6 deadly PL15.. PL15 is huge due to long range travel while Aim120D is small size and short range. 8 units can ve squeeze into the F22... PL15 can kill first before the F22 or F35 can see.

[limcheating]

If you really study the history of Chinese Warplane development, you could trace back the aerodynamic design to J9, which was developed in the 70s, earlier than MIG1.44 (2000s), and the designer of J20, Yang Wei, is the student of the Designer of J9 and J10, he inherited the design philosophy

[dsong]

The DSI design is not stolen from the F-35, China already had DSI bumps in the export FC-1 fighters sold to Pakistan in the early 2000s before the first F-35 flew

[julianbulatao]

Didnt expect the Not What You Think crossover at the end 😂 Love both channels!

[vandarkholme]

Plane doesn't look like F22:
"This is not stealthy"
Plane has the slightest resemblance to F22:
"Oh it must be a copy"
👌

[kiro]

The J-20s role was never to intercept F-22s and F-35s, they were designed to take-down AWACS and Oil Tankers/Refuelers hence, the long fuselage since it stores more missiles and fuel. Moreover, they were designed to fly longer since it's dedicated to fight in the Pacific Ocean where nearby landmasses are far away.

Furthermore, a key design in the J-20 are its canards. The canards are for short take-off and landing since the Chinese government is expecting that at the early stages of a war in the Pacific, the US can send in hundreds of cruise missiles from nearby warships, bombers, and cargo aircrafts effectively saturating military targets and runways. Because of this, they designed the J-20 with canards to take-off and land with limited runway.

[HeavenlyMandate]

People may ridicule the J-20's weaknesses and how it cannot go toe to toe with F-22A or F-35A. But they're forgetting the most important aspect and that is J-20 being China's first attempt at making combat operational stealth aircraft, and we can all agree that they made a pretty good job for the first try.

[null]

Something to add. The first aircraft uses DSI intake that entered service is actually the Chinese develop FC-1 / JF-17.

[quanwang]

The leak of F35 data happened in 2009, and then J-20 first flight was on January 11, 2011. So what aspects of the design can be modified in such a short time?

[simonwoess]

You forgot about one of the most decisive feature about the J-20:
Its range. It easely outranges any other 5th gen fighter wich makes it perfect for long range intercepts and of shore sea strike missions
Two things the chinese might need in a fight against high developed contries

[CapB]

You have been pumping out videos at a super high rate. Love it and all your videos!

[kmanb]

The animations are looking REALLY good! Keep it up!

[suberchen]

China has been using the DSI since the JF-17, saying it is ignorant of aviation industry technology to copy the F35. The J20's canard is flush with the main wing, unlike the canard of current 4th generation fighters, and has the same stealth impact as the F22's horizontal tail.

[btkt]

I like how absurdly wrong western media can get when it comes to J-20, it’s like we are not living in the same world

[JohnSmith-qkrm]

It is not very accurate, the J20 design was based on the J9-6-2 design in 1980. The J9 program actrually ended up in 2 design the J9-6-1 became the J10 and the heavy version of J9, the J9-6-2 eventrally became J20. There was a very interesting history behind it including a lot of Geo-Politic story and even the switch of design buro.

[Madtrack]

WS-15 has been tested on a J-20. However it will not go ahead until the engine is certified. Also pretty recently, the entire cockpit has been redesigned as well as the front. (Called the J-20B but is not the old J-20B)

[renxyz]

China’s DSI air inlet design was the JF17 for Pakistan Air Force, which happened in later 1990. It is much earlier than F35 DSI inlet.