U.S. Military's Sixth-Generation Fighter: A Copy of the J-20?
Is the U.S. Air Force's sixth-generation fighter actually a copy of China's J-20?
Lately, the long-awaited sixth-generation fighter (F-47) of the U.S. Air Force has finally revealed a hint of its mystery.
On the 4th, the U.S. website "The War Zone" reported that a blogger captured, using a thermal imaging device near Groom Lake Air Base—the so-called "Area 51"—an unknown aircraft model.
Although the image pixels are blurry, it is still possible to see that this is an aircraft with either a canard or a three-surface configuration. However, its canard design is overly prominent, giving the overall silhouette a striking resemblance to the J-20.
Regarding what this aircraft might be, "The War Zone" offers two perspectives: first, it could be a technology demonstrator for the U.S. Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter (F-47), as Boeing’s previously released renderings of the sixth-gen fighter already featured a canard design.
Additionally, if this new aircraft truly is a demonstrator for the U.S. military’s sixth-generation fighter, Boeing may have drawn inspiration from McDonnell Douglas’ tailless high-maneuverability demonstrator from the 1990s—the X-36.
The second speculation put forward by American media is that this aircraft might be a large unmanned drone—specifically, an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV)—an experimental collaborative combat aircraft, or another type of unmanned technology demonstrator, rather than a prototype of a sixth-generation fighter.
Regardless, judging from the reactions of U.S. media over the past day, Americans are clearly excited. If this aircraft is indeed the legendary U.S. Air Force sixth-generation fighter, it at least proves that the United States hasn't fallen far behind China in sixth-generation fighter research.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867154137324547/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.