Three-Engined PLAAF Strike Aircraft
by David Archibald
29 December 2024
The Chicoms flew two new aircraft types on 26th December, the more interesting of which was a large, tailless, three-engined, delta wing configuration:
It is the best-looking, wholly Chinese aircraft to date. For what it was designed to achieve, it can’t be found wanting. First here is a side view of the aircraft with the J-20 chase aircraft for size comparison:
Note the lack of a vertical tail. Delta wing aircraft have good supersonic characteristics in terms of lift and drag but poorer maneuverability at low speed. The reason why they got rid of the tail is because tails are only good for lateral stability and cause drag and increase the radar signature significantly. If you can do without the tail, you do without the tail.
The lower photo above shows the air intake for the middle engine. The Chicoms likely don’t have an engine powerful enough to have achieved this design with just two engines. The reason why fighter aircraft don’t have intakes on their upper surfaces is because if the aircraft pitches up, it cuts off the flow of air and the engine would stall. That doesn’t matter for this aircraft because it will be flying level for most of its mission. If the mission of the J-20 was to sneak through the front line and go after US AWACS and tanker aircraft, the mission of this aircraft is to sneak past the AWACS aircraft and go after the US carriers. It could hold US aircraft carriers at risk well beyond the range of the carrier-based aircraft.
The mainstay of the Chicom bomber fleet is the H-6, which is based on the Tu-16 which first flew in 1952 and which can be seen by radars from a great distance. The Chicoms have been experimenting with launching ballistic missiles from the H-6. The photo following shows a ballistic missile fitted to the wing of a H-6 bomber:
As per the Russian Kinzhal missile air-launched version of the ground-launched Iskander missile. The Iskander production rate is reportedly 40 missiles per month. The only air defence system in Ukraine that can intercept it is the Patriot, but Ukraine only has six Patriot batteries. The Russians are using the Iskander to snipe away at things in Ukraine. The 500 km range of the Iskander is doubled to 1,000 km in the Kinzhal.
The new aircraft is likely to be built to cruise at 60,000 feet at perhaps Mach 1.5, which means that the temperature of the leading edges of the wings and nose will be 100°C hotter than the air it is travelling in. This makes it easier to see in the infrared as per this figure adapted from John Stillion’s 2015 paper:
What that figure shows is that as the speed of an aircraft rises through Mach 1, the formation of the Mach cone from the aircraft nose causes its infrared signature to bloom. An aircraft at Mach 1, travelling 25% faster than at Mach 0.8, gives an enemy searching for it using Infrared Search and Track (IRST) 72% more time to react than when it was travelling at Mach 0.8. But at Mach 1.5 it is travelling nearly twice as fast for a 50% increase in reaction time for the enemy. This is the sweet spot for supercruise (supersonic flight without using afterburner) in the tradeoff between range, speed, and detectability.
The same day that this aircraft had its initial flight, an anti-CCP Youtube channel released a video mocking the H-6 bomber as being antiquated. They spoke too soon.
What can be done? The big difference between China’s coming war and WW2 is that this time the Allies have most of the islands in the Western Pacific. Last time, Japan had most of these islands, as a result of taking over German possessions at the end of WW1. Not enough has been done to rebuild the airfields from WW2 and hardened shelters. A shelter costing US$6 million can protect an aircraft costing US$120 million and soak up Chicom missiles costing US$4 million each in doing so.
David Archibald is the author of American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare.