for me the JF17 looks similar to the F5 & F16 family
NOTHING LIKE THESE BELOW
gripen
Tejas
J10
Typhoon
RAFALE
These are five 4th generation fighters that are ALL TAILESS
UNLIKE THE THUNDER WHICH COPIES THE USA F5 & F16 CONCEPT ABOVE
Since all these have delta winds and I assume your point you were silently trying to make was to let readers think of the LCA......is it safe to say in your opinion that JFT is an upgraded Mig-21 and so using the same logic, the LCA is a downgraded Gripen NG or Mirage 2005-9?? Makes perfect sense.
Well I hate to bust your bubble. The 4th Gen doesn't mean its "tailless" You are JUST showing designs that are tailless and have 4th gen capabilities i.e. the avionics, flight controls, and speed / maneuverability. The airframe doesn't decide the generation. I can copy the -22 and use Aluminum on it, instead of Stealth composites, put a DX-86 processor and have the Radar range down to 20 miles like the first gen -16's. So does that mean the Raptor's lookalike is still a 5th Gen place? No, I brought it down to the 1st or 2nd gen fighter even if it looks exactly like the Raptor.
This has been said before many times on here, the Northrop Grumman was initially contracted by the Chinese and the Pakistanis for design aid. Their star plane back then was the -5 and the -20. Pakistanis had tremendous experience with the Star-fighter -104. They were very impressed with its speed and agility although there was lack of weapons and loads. Initially, what's known as JFT today, was supposed to have a mix of the -104, -5 and was supposed to have multi-role, back then state of the art -20's avionics and upgrades.
That didn't fly due to the sanctions applied on China and then on Pakistan. So, the design then further changed and evolved to include latest airframe proven models by the Chngdu (I believe is the manufacturer?), at this point, it included the DSI and LERX, etc, from the -18.
Now its a cross between -5, -20, -16 (avionic wise) and -18's airframe. Nowhere near is the Mig 21 in this picture.