According to reports, the J-16 is equipped with a Thunderbolt-17 missile, which has a range of 400 kilometers and a flight speed of Mach 4.
Compared with other air-to-air missiles in the world at present, the Thunderbolt-17 has the longest range and faster flight speed, which makes it have a strong strike capability. However, it is too early to assess whether the Thunderbolt-17 can become the nemesis of the American F-22.
As a first-class fighter, the F-22 has advanced radar stealth capabilities and over-the-horizon strike capabilities.
Although the Thunderbolt-17 has a long range and high-speed flight capabilities, it also needs to take into account the impact of radar stealth and jamming technology when confronting ** fighters like the F-22.
In addition, the confrontation between fighters does not only depend on the performance of missiles, but also involves many factors such as the maneuverability of fighters and the detection range of radars. Therefore, to fully assess the threat of the Thunderbolt-17 to the F-22, it is also necessary to take into account the combined impact of various factors.
In short, the Thunderbolt-17, as an air-to-air missile with a long range and fast flight speed, has a certain threat. But to determine whether it can be the nemesis of the F-22, more practical testing and evaluation data is needed.
The Thunderbolt-17 is an air-to-air missile that can significantly increase the range of the missile to more than 50%. Although the concept of this dual-pulse engine was proposed by the United States, China has successfully developed and applied it to the Thunderbolt-17 missile.
In contrast, the American AIM-260 missile faced difficulties. Technically, the Thunderbolt-17 missile is quite capable of shooting down the F-22 fighter. But in over-the-horizon operations, the missile needs to be used in conjunction with AWACS aircraft to determine the location of enemy aircraft.
Outwardly, it seems that the Thunderbolt-17 is more suitable for shooting down American AWACS aircraft than specifically for the F-22 or F-35. However, due to the length of the Thunderbolt-17's body reaching 6 meters, it is difficult to fit into the magazine of the J-20 fighter.
If the U.S. dispatches the F-22, we can use the J-20 with the Thunderbolt-15 missile to counterattack.
In addition, the Thunderbolt-17 also uses laser metal fusion technology to process the projectile, which can quickly manufacture lightweight projectiles with complex structures to ensure mass production in wartime**.
If AWACS aircraft in the rear of the US military are shot down on the battlefield, the entire information center of the enemy's air force will be destroyed, which will provide us with an important advantage in winning air battles.
In addition to the Thunderbolt-17, China has a Thunderbolt-21 missile, which is said to be similar to the Thunderbolt-15, but has a longer range, reaching more than 500 kilometers, which is close to the range of cruise missiles. The dimensions have not changed, but the range has increased, which may be due to changes in solid fuel.
*Thunderbolt-21 uses a solid fuel that may have evolved from an all-nitrogen anionic salt, making it faster. Therefore, even without the support of the J-16, the J-20 with the Thunderbolt-21 missile on board can shoot down the American AWACS aircraft at a distance of 400 kilometers.
Overall, China's air-to-air missile technology is about 10 years ahead of the United States, and many people do not realize that the quality of our equipment is comprehensively surpassing that of the West, and only one or two technical points have not yet been completed.