The F 35 and J 20 Are Unrivalled as Dogfighters. What about SU-57
F-35 and J-20: Unrivalled in Visual-Range Engagements
As the only two fifth generation fighters in large scale production, the Chinese J-20 and American F-35 are in many respects the most potent and sophisticated operational combat jets in the world today, and boast cutting edge capabilities across the spectrum of performance parameters. While stealth fighters retain overwhelming advantages in air-to-air combat at beyond-visual-ranges, which in the cases of the J-20 and F-35 are supplemented by particularly powerful sensors and advanced network centric warfare capabilities, it is often overlooked that the two are also outstandingly capable in visual-range engagements.
Although beyond-visual-range air to air capabilities using radar guided air to air missiles have steadily grown in importance since the 1960s, and today any potential major conflict between modern fleets is expected to see the large majority of engagements take place at such ranges. the possibility of visual-range engagements was nevertheless far from neglected by the designers of the world’s two premier fighters.
Although stealth capabilities have very limited utility in visual-range combat, thus evening the odds for non-stealth aircraft, the avionics and armaments of the J-20 and F-35 provide both with similarly significant advantages at such ranges to ensure that they still retain superiority.
The most significant subsystem setting both apart from other fighters are their electro-optical distributed aperture system. These can be seen on the J-20 as six diamond-shaped windows: two on the sides of the nose, two more under the rear fuselage and a further two at the forward aft of the cockpit, which represent electro optical sensors covering all directions. The F-35 integrates an equivalent system, the AN/AAQ-37.
Electro-optical distributed aperture system
These systems allow pilots to observe their surroundings 360 degrees around the aircraft as well as through the bottom using their helmets, eliminating blind spots which is particularly valuable for visual-range combat. The systems also facilitate the detection and tracking of enemy missiles including launch point detection and the cueing of countermeasures. They further facilitate detection and tracking of enemy aircraft and cueing for air-to-air missiles and infrared tracking systems, while further providing imagery for cockpit displays and pilot night vision.
The benefits of the J-20 and F-35’s aperture systems were summarised by Russian defence analyst Vladimir Tuchkov as follows: “It is the pilot’s helmet, which makes the aircraft ‘transparent.’ That is, visibility is not limited by the cockpit windows. The whole panorama of the surrounding area is displayed in the pilot’s visors, in both the visible and the infrared spectrum. Monitoring the pilot’s head and eye movements, the computer provides the necessary panoramic viewpoint and provides the pilots with tips, and manages targeting.”
He assessed that a lack of such systems was the leading disadvantage of Russia’s own fifth generation fighter the Su-57, serving as one example of how the limitations of Russia’s industry and tech sector prevent it from competing on a fully peer level to the two global leaders in fighter aviation. As world’s first fifth generation fighter, the F-22 which relies on avionics dating back to the 1990s also lacks a distributed aperture system, although it was initially envisaged that incremental upgrades across a much longer production run would see newer models produced from the mid-2010s integrate such systems.
Other subsystems that provide significant advantages in visual-range combat
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