What should you see at the Zhuhai Air Show? What are the latest major weapons of the great powers?

Expert of this article: Lin Wenjie, engineer, senior researcher of Chuando Think Tank

On September 28, the 13th Zhuhai Air Show opened and received close attention from many netizens.

This air show has a huge amount of information, such as the "20" series aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, flight performances, aerospace equipment, etc., which are full of highlights.

Not only flying in the sky, but also tanks and armored vehicles running on the ground came.

At this point, many people may not know much about the Zhuhai Air Show. For example, how can tanks be exhibited at the air show? What is aviation and aerospace? What are the new trends in the "20" series? Let's talk about it from the simplest to the most complex.

What is the Zhuhai Air Show?

The first Zhuhai Air Show was held in 1996. It was positioned as an international professional aviation and aerospace exhibition and also became the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. At the air show, you can see all kinds of high-tech equipment currently in service in our army.

Image source: Zhuhai Airshow official website

At the same time, as foreign buyers put forward higher demands, the Zhuhai Air Show has gradually become a comprehensive defense exhibition, displaying many land warfare equipment and even naval warfare equipment to meet the needs of international customers.

It can be considered that the Zhuhai Air Show is a comprehensive defense exhibition focusing on aerospace. In addition to the civil aviation industry, it can also arm a country's military.

What is the difference between aviation and aerospace?

Aviation and aerospace, both sound like they involve flying, so what are the differences?

Simply put, aviation is flying within the Earth's atmosphere, while aerospace is flying outside the Earth's atmosphere.

The difference between the two is huge. For example, current aircraft engines have air intakes, compressors, turbines and other structures, while aerospace engines do not need air intakes, compressors and turbines because their working environment is close to a vacuum. The combustion chamber and tail nozzle structures of the two are also quite different.

Artificial satellites are also typical spacecraft that only work outside the atmosphere.

The Zhuhai Air Show combines aviation and aerospace together because with the development of technology, the technology in the aerospace field can measure a country's scientific and technological strength, and both are indispensable. A country that can develop launch vehicles may not be able to independently develop aircraft such as fighter jets and large passenger aircraft, and vice versa.

Our country combines the two together to hold an exhibition, which is enough to demonstrate the country's comprehensive strength.

What are the highlights of this Zhuhai Air Show?

The number of exhibition halls at this Zhuhai Air Show has increased from 8 in the previous session to 11, with 107 aircraft participating in the exhibition, achieving full coverage of land, sea, air, space and electronics.

It includes theme exhibition areas such as civil aviation industry, dual-use military and civilian technology, aviation manufacturing support, MRO, unmanned systems and maritime defense. It can be said that what is displayed at each booth is the black technology in the aerospace sub-sector.

In the indoor exhibition area, the biggest highlight is the "20" series, namely the Z-20, Y-20 and J-20, including the J-20 flight performance outside the venue. This is a veritable heavy weapon of a great power.

J-20

J-20 chief designer Yang Wei also revealed a lot of information, such as the J-20 has replaced its domestically produced engine. The project meets the standards of equipment generation and pre-research generation, which means that our country's sixth-generation aircraft is under development and may be unveiled in the near future.

In the outdoor exhibition area, the biggest highlight is the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft. This is the first time that this model has been physically displayed at an air show. It can be said that the J-16D is full of black technology. As an electronic warfare aircraft, its tactical concept is to use the electronic jamming pods it carries to electronically suppress and deceive enemy radars.

There are only a handful of countries that can develop special electronic jammers. From the skinning process of the J-16D and the details of the jamming pod, we can see that our country has made great progress in the fields of aviation industry and electronics industry, and the relevant technologies have ranked among the top in the world.

How do ordinary people watch air shows?

The first three days of the air show are professional days, and the latter are public days. The ticket prices are different (professional day ticket prices are several times more expensive), and the exhibits are also different. Some exhibitors only display on professional days, such as the most complete equipment on the first day of the opening. These are often shown to various customers.

After all, military fans are a minority among the general audience, and spending thousands of dollars to buy a professional day ticket is not the most cost-effective option. It is more ideal to spend less money to watch the excitement and just go in and take a look on public days.

You can see flight demonstrations by the Air Force's active fighter jets and the August 1st Flying Team. If you don't know much about aerospace equipment, you can go to the venue to take a look and learn about the latest developments in the aerospace field.

You can also see tanks climbing slopes, wading, traveling on bumpy roads, crossing trenches, and vertically crawling over 60-centimeter roadblocks, which are not easy to see under normal circumstances.

Since the Zhuhai Air Show is located near the airport, if you just want to watch the flight show but don't want to spend money, you don't have to buy a ticket. You can watch the flight show on the hillside outside the airport, but the angle is not good. However, there are some outdoor venues with relatively better angles, such as the top floors of surrounding buildings.

The present and future of Zhuhai Air Show

The Zhuhai Air Show has evolved from being an aerospace expo to today's comprehensive defense exhibition, which showcases our country's comprehensive strength and various achievements in aerospace.

Since aerospace technology is a symbol of a country's comprehensive national strength, our country has given a high position to the Zhuhai Air Show from the very beginning.

In general, there are two important purposes for holding the Zhuhai Air Show:

The first is to showcase our country’s achievements in aerospace and enhance national pride;

The second is to provide international customers with channels to visit and purchase weapons and equipment independently developed by our country.

Today's Zhuhai Air Show has gathered equipment from five dimensions: land, sea, air, space and electronics. Some small countries can achieve one-stop shopping here and buy all the weapons and equipment.

In the future, the Zhuhai Air Show is expected to attract more international aerospace manufacturers and become the world's top aerospace expo.

Let’s look forward to it together!

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