Ok, I came across this -> http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/3251903 a few years ago. Looking at the "Chinese stealth fighter" - it looks a LOT like the F-22. My question is: Did the US sell the F-22 plans to the Chinese and now we are getting these fake ass "news" stories about the Chinese picking up the plans from the 1999 F-117 wreckage. -gastropod
The J-20 is supposedly from a Russian design but some of the stealth may have been engineered from parts salvaged from a downed U.S. F-117 shot down over Serbia in 1999. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/china-stealth-fighter-us-technology China did steal the Navy's AEGIS system and other military tech. http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453572.990277778.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/3319656
I would imagine the chances of even YF-22 data getting out there are slim but lets not discount the fact the math behind stealthy supersonic aircraft leads us to airframes that share a lot of similarities.
You are correct the F-117 does not look anything like the current crop of stealthy supersonic warplanes probably because the F-117's max speed is Mach 0.92 while supersonic is Mach 1 and above.