Neither J-20 nor FC-31: Pakistan future Stealth Aircraft JF-20 & JF-17.6 (Project AZM design) Leaked

Recently, according to the Pakistan Defense Information Analysis website, Pakistan is looking to Partner with Chengdu in the country’s stealth fighter program known as Project AZM.

Neither J-20 nor FC-31: Pakistan future Stealth Aircraft JF-20 & JF-17.6 (Project AZM design) Leaked

The network accidentally exposed the model of three single-head stealth fighters named as JF-20, JF-17 and JF-17.6

From the appearance, the JF-17.6 and the JF-17 model is the direct stealth improvement of the JF-17 fighter, retaining the basic aerodynamic layout of the JF-17, such as the DSI without the boundary layer air inlet, Gothic The pointed arch has a large side strip, but the side of the front fuselage adds a hidden ridgeline, and the rear fuselage is changed from a single vertical tail to a cambered double tail.

JF-17.6 uses a belly-mounted semi-buried bomb and a stealth conformal weapon pod on the weapon mount. The unnamed model has a new built-in bomb bay on the belly, which is obviously more perfect in stealth design. However, it will adversely affect the flight of the aircraft due to the occupation of the internal oil space.

The JF-20’s body shape has been completely redesigned, not only the nose radome is sharper, the cockpit cover is more integrated into the front fuselage, the transition between the lower surface of the fuselage and the wing is smoother, and JF-17 is also eliminated.

The pointed arch is large. Like the unrecognized model, the JF-20 has a large bomb bay on the belly. This machine is obviously the best high-end solution in stealth performance of the three schemes. Of course, this means that the development cost is the highest.

Pakistani Ministry of Planning and Development officials confirmed that the project will expand China-Pakistan cooperation on JF-17 fighters. This is likely to indicate that Pakistan has chosen Chengdu as a partner in the AZM project. The new generation of stealth fighters will be the legendary JF-17 stealth version, not Shenyang FC-31.

The reason why the Pakistan Air Force is rejecting FC-31, and finally chose to develop and fly a single-engine stealth fighter jet based on JF-17 is the high procurement and maintenance cost of the dual-engine fighter.

In 2009, the cost per hour of F-16A/B flight was $4,900, and the cost of flying F-CK-1A/B fighters per hour was as high as $7,700.

The Pakistani Air Force with limited military spending has a long history of operating single-engine fighters, and its active main fighters Mirage III/5, J-7, JF-17, and F-16 are all single-engine, so they continue to be used in the AZM project. The single shot design is also understandable.

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6 comments

  1. This is a well known fake, posted several times and long well known – even admitted by the modeller himself – and I really don’t understand why some still think this is real and even more why discussing this again and again.

    The model is well known to be was made by a military enthusiast named “yes413” before 2016.

    https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/jf17-6-and-jf20-are-self-made-models-for-military-enthusiasts.594338/

    So PLEASE … not again!

  2. It does not seem likely that the PLAN will operate the J-20 from either of its existing carriers, as the design and weight would strain deck and launch capacity. But perhaps we can expect the J-20 to grace the decks of the next Chinese carrier. Carrier 003, equipped with electromagnetic catapults, could probably operate the J-20. It remains to be seen whether China will continue development on a smaller, complimentary stealth fighter that could fly from the older two carriers. If not, there will be an even more distinct difference between the two generations of Chinese aircraft carriers, as the latter will be stuck with the non-stealthy J-15 for the foreseeable future.

  3. Project Azm is well engineered and well kept secret behind closed doors so we know nothing about it apart from the fact that it’ll be a 5th generation all weather air superiority platform for PAF

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