American magazine "The National Interest" published an article on September 7, mentioning a model of a sixth-generation fighter jet named "Bai Di" displayed at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, and gave a serious analysis of it.

This aircraft has a highly sci-fi appearance and is part of the "Nantianmen Project."

The U.S. media clearly pointed out in the article that the design and structure of this aircraft have many unrealistic aspects, such as small wing surfaces, large radar cross-section, and control surface layout not meeting stealth requirements, which almost certainly means it is a model that cannot fly at all.

The report even compared it to fictional aircraft in movies, stating that it is not a real technical solution.

At the same time, the article also mentioned that the real Chinese sixth-generation projects, such as the three-engine J-36 from Chengdu and the J-50 from Shenyang, differ significantly in aerodynamic layout and size from Bai Di, so Bai Di is obviously not in the official development sequence.

Model of Bai Di Fighter

What's going on with Bai Di? Everyone knows, why does the U.S. media still analyze it again, saying Bai Di is fake?

The facts seem more complicated than imagined.

Bai Di is considered fantastical precisely because it is not a real weapon system at all.

It belongs to a science fiction cultural project called the "Nantianmen Project," whose purpose is to build a virtual aerospace world, design concepts for future equipment, write novels and visual narratives, and inspire public interest, especially among young people, in aviation technology.

Bai Di, as a main character fighter jet in the project, is not meant to fly in the sky but serves a symbolic role.

Its appearance pays homage to many popular culture works, rather than following aerodynamic engineering logic; it is not intended to be built and equipped by the PLA.

Model of Bai Di Fighter

The irony is that the U.S. media also knows Bai Di is playing a joke, emphasizing that it is fake, but they still act as if they are worried it might really take off one day.

In the paragraph where it denies Bai Di's authenticity, the tone is firm, yet it also says that it cannot rule out the possibility of it being a strategic deception.

They believe its existence may be intended to cover up China's real sixth-generation fighter jet project.

Some even suspect that the Nantianmen Project may not just be a fantasy literary project, but may contain some clues to China's aviation strategy.

To put it bluntly, it's about fear—when I truly take you as a joke, but you're not joking.

On one hand, they must maintain the narrative framework that we still lead technologically and cannot truly admit that China already has a forward-looking advantage in sixth-generation fighters.

But on the other hand, they are worried that such models may actually hide technical paths or cognitive warfare logic, and thus cannot completely ignore them, fearing that what is fake might become real one day.

So they have formed such a public attitude: saying it's completely fake, but secretly not relaxing their vigilance.

Imaginary Image

This kind of thing has happened before.

As early as the 1980s, the United States launched the Star Wars Program due to the Soviet Union possibly developing space-based laser weapons.

Although academia now generally considers the technical feasibility of this program very low and it was never actually deployed, it did force the Soviet Union to invest a large amount of resources into space defense, indirectly accelerating its economic collapse.

From this perspective, the United States is well aware of the destructive power of false strategies.

Therefore, when they see products like Bai Di that look fake but are somewhat realistic, they instinctively think of their own tactics during the Cold War.

After all, if China suddenly brings out several sixth-generation fighters flying in the sky, what else is impossible?

So, what exactly is Bai Di, is no longer important.

What matters is that the United States is nervous.

This is the most paradoxical scene in current international competition: China is showcasing fantasy, while some people in the United States know it's fake, but they dare not really take it as fake. It can be said that they are already in a state of paranoia.

When the enemy seriously analyzes your science fiction work, it itself speaks volumes.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7547551228901851648/

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