via South China Morning Post
Peter Layton, a retired Australian air force officer and visiting fellow at Brisbane’s Griffith Asia Institute, said the latest image confirmed the J-36’s three weapons bays – one large and two smaller – and the dorsal intake for the third engine. He added that the third engine was “probably the same as the other two rather than some exotic engine such as ramjet”. That suggests it is there to provide the additional thrust needed for cruising at supersonic speeds – something two engines alone probably cannot achieve, according to Layton.“I think it confirms the growing view that the J-36 is [a] large, long-range strike aircraft,” said Layton, who is also an associate fellow at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute. He added that the jet had an “innovative design with good stealth characteristics” and appeared more like a regional bomber.Brendan Mulvaney, director of the US Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute, agreed that it resembled an attack or bomber aircraft design. “But in the future, fighters might just turn out to be ‘missile trucks’ anyway, so perhaps it will fill the role of a stealth platform that can deliver both air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions,” he said. Other analysts believe the J-36 is designed for both.
Interesting.
I can't get a good read on the size of this beast but I'm thinking its sorta like the F-111 mixed with A-5 Vigilante.
Regardless I can't lie. I like it. To be honest it looks like the Chinese have developed a stealthy version of the B-1R concept. A high speed missile truck that can swap out payloads to turn it from the anti-air mission back into the surface attack role (note I said surface attack meaning ground targets and naval shipping if they have the electronics right).
One other thing.
This beast has first strike capability written all over it. Mix long range anti-surface weapons with high speed stealth and it can hit our planes while they're sitting on the ground. In another scenario they can fly out past the first island chain to conduct first strikes against our carriers & amphibs.
I like this thing. Having said that we need to start working on ways to KILL IT!