Video of Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter with four external fuel tanks | Alert 5

[Martian]

After consuming the fuel in the four external fuel tanks, the Chinese J-20 can loiter over the South China Sea for a prolonged period of time. Alternatively, the external fuel tanks can greatly extend the range of the J-20 to enable the missile shoot-down of an AWACS at great distances.


"Published on Dec 26, 2016
Chinese J-20 fighter jet made flight with four external fuel tanks"
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Video of J-20 with four external fuel tanks | Alert 5

 

[Neo]

Isn't the stealthy feature compromised by utilising external fueltanks?

 

[Martian]

Isn't the stealthy feature compromised by utilising external fueltanks?

Stealth is compromised by external fuel tanks, but it's easy to minimize the vulnerability.

1. Re-design the external fuel tanks to make them more stealthy. Use faceted shaping to reflect radar away at a sharp angle.

2. Since the Chengdu J-20 will be flown within two thousand miles of China's coast, Chinese radar (ground-based, naval-based on the Type 052C/D, Chinese AWACS L-band, satellite-based sensors, drone-based VHF/UHF radar, and sharing radar reception from other jet fighters) will allow the J-20 to fly most of the way to combat in safety.

Upon entering a potentially dangerous engagement zone (where Chinese anti-stealth radars do not have extensive coverage), the Chengdu J-20 will drop its external fuel tanks and fly in a clean state.
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China's Type 517M anti-stealth radar can determine whether there is a stealth aircraft flying within 200 miles.

"Type 517 radar is believed to be an A-band/VHF air search radar widely deployed on PLA-N ... (Specs based on P-8 KNIFE REST); A - band (70 - 73 MHz); Range: 300 km (est); Power: 100 kW; Pulse width: 4 - 12 us"