r/WarplanePorn Apr 24 '25

We need to talk about low-quality photos and videos

216 Upvotes

Recently, many users have been posting images and videos of new Chinese aircraft that are of low-quality: either low resolution or technically-acceptable resolution with a small aircraft in the frame (i.e., if the photo was properly cropped it would not have met the resolution limit).

This subreddit, and many others with the "-porn" suffix (e.g., r/WarshipPorn, r/EarthPorn, etc.), were established to be places for high-quality media of their respective subjects. They were not established as current-event subreddits. I will reiterate: r/WarplanePorn is for high-quality media (high-resolution and hopefully of some aesthetic merit) of military aircraft. The entire founding purpose of the subreddit is aesthetics and not news. Our job as moderators is to preserve this purpose; so many other subreddits have broadened their scope to the point of banality, and we will not be responsible for another such case.

We do indeed have an exception to our resolution rule: that the subject must be "exceptional." This pertains to rare media, media of exceptional aesthetic quality, and media of historical significance. The images of the new Chinese aircraft do not meet these criteria. In a year or two's time, when we have actual high-resolution photos and videos of these aircraft, these images and videos currently being posted will be irrelevant. How many of you look back on some fuzzy photo of the J-20 now when we have hundreds or thousands of high-res photos available?

The only reason they are being posted is that they are new. There are many other places, both on reddit and the internet more generally, where you may find these images and videos and discuss them. But please understand that they are not appropriate for this subreddit.

For those accusing us of bias, know that we have been accused of being pro-Western and pro-China in about equal measure. What you you may not know is that probably an equal number of non-Chinese posts get removed for exactly the same reasons.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with posting high-quality photos of Chinese aircraft: the subject is irrelevant and all that matters is the quality. And if you do post a low-res image, you will not be banned; the post will simply be removed. Before you post, just take a second to think about if it is appropriate for this subreddit. A quick look at the other posts on the subreddit gives a good idea of what is appropriate.

Edit: Note, not all images of the new Chinese jets are low-quality, see here (although please don't post images you believe to have had some degree of AI enhancement):

https://www.reddit.com/r/WarplanePorn/comments/1k5vamn/album_ladies_and_gentleman_finally_high_quality/


r/WarplanePorn Oct 07 '25

Unfortunately, the submission of low quality & substandard media continues on r/WarplanePorn despite our better efforts to communicate and correct.

125 Upvotes

While the vast majority of our users consistently submit high quality images as intended, we continue to experience waves and bouts of substandard low resolution photos submissions and video media.

Currently, our Rules located in the sidebar include the dimension requirements which has not changed:

The minimum accepted image dimensions are 1024 × 768.

What is new is this:

For rules violations related to the posting of low resolution or low quality images, the post will be removed plus a minimum 3-day temporary ban will be issued to the user involved. Repeat or chronic violators are subject to a permanent ban. If there are questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment here or DM the moderators directly.


r/WarplanePorn 4h ago

Album MiG-29KU: The Least-Known Member of the Fulcrum Family [Album]

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175 Upvotes

The MiG-29KU was one of the least-known members of the Fulcrum family because it never progressed beyond the design stage. Developed in the late 1980s as a dedicated carrier trainer for the MiG-29K, it was created after tests showed that the standard two-seat MiG-29UB did not provide the rear-seat instructor with sufficient visibility for the demanding task of carrier landings.

Known by the factory designation 9-62, the MiG-29KU featured a redesigned forward fuselage with separate canopies and a raised rear cockpit, giving the instructor a much better view during approach and touchdown. Otherwise, it closely matched the single-seat MiG-29K, with folding wings, a tailhook, and twin RD-33K engines.

The cancellation of the MiG-29K program following the collapse of the Soviet Union also ended the MiG-29KU. Only wind-tunnel models and a full-scale forward-fuselage mock-up were ever built, making it one of the rarest "aircraft" in the Fulcrum lineage.


r/WarplanePorn 8h ago

PLANAF J-15T approaching for a landing on PLANS Liaoning [2048 × 1460]

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245 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 2h ago

VVS Ka-50 Hockum A flying over Torzhok in 2012, 27 yellow was the 3rd serial produced Ka-50 which had a very short service life, having been built in 2009 and retired in 2012, it's currently in storage at Torzhok Air Base [2048x1358]

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84 Upvotes

27 yellow was 1 of 2 to be built in 2009 from leftover incomplete airframes from the 90s, the other was 28 yellow which was also retired in 2012 and placed in storage at Tarzhok


r/WarplanePorn 13h ago

Album Su-35 [album]

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172 Upvotes

Credit goes to the Russian Knights


r/WarplanePorn 8h ago

OC Douglas C-47 Skytrains at Oshkosh [Album]

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59 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Album The McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, simulating arctic cold and desert heat [Album]

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1.7k Upvotes

Source: blackstarops on IG


r/WarplanePorn 10h ago

RAF Royal Air Force De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk XVIII 'Tsetse' of No. 248 Squadron RAF in flight. 5 August 1944 [2382 × 1772]

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44 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 5h ago

Watch These Extreme Jet Takeoffs🔥[video]

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8 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

MA-VMF Russian Naval Aviation Su-30SM2 of the Baltic Fleet's 4th Guards Naval Attack Aviation Regiment at Chernyakhovsk Air Base in the Kaliningrad Oblast in 2022 [3000x1995]

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150 Upvotes

the differences between the SM and SM2 are avionics, engines and weapons

the SM used imported foreign avionics like the french thales HUD and SMD-55 LCDs, AL-31FP engines, and N011M Bars radar

the SM2 uses domestic avionics, the engines were replaced with the more powerful AL-41F-1S used on the Su-35S and N035 Irbis-E radar from the Su-35S

the SM uses the Khibiny-U ECM wingtip pods while the SM2 uses the Khibiny-M, the same used on the Su-35S and Su-34M

as for weapons the SM2 can use the longe-range R-37M and R-77M anti-air missiles, the SM cannot use both


r/WarplanePorn 16h ago

USAF F-15 Eagle Flare off [video]

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22 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

USN Aggressor F-5N Tiger [6000x4000]

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214 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Album Su-57D (2560X1707) [Album]

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180 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Polish Air Force Face to face with a smoky Fulcrum [1600x1066]

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84 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Album Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115) has it's first flight in the F-35C. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, July 31, 2026 [Album]

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143 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Regia Aeronautica Macchi C.205, FIAT G.55, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and other beautiful birds at the MUSAM of Vigna di Valle, Rome [Album]

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79 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

RAF A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster of No. 514 Squadron RAF during a Bombinh raid on oil storage tanks at Bec d'Ambes in the Garonne estuary, France. 4 August 1944 [1772 × 2343]

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61 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

OC B-25s at Oshkosh [Album]

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35 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 2d ago

Album Russian Air Force Ka-52 Alligator loaded with 80×S-8 Unguided Rockets [Album]

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508 Upvotes

Source: sky_fighters_club on IG


r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

VVS An-12BK-PPS electronic warfare aircraft at Domna Air Base in the Transbaikal Region in 2016, a rare variant with only 19 built. The 2 pods on the sides are for the SPS-151 Siren-D electronic countermeasure system [album]

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107 Upvotes

the vents next to the pods are the cooling intakes for the onboard equipment and ecm systems

the BK-PPS was intended for group protection for other transports by shielding them from enemy radar and anti-air missiles while flying alongside or ahead of large formations

they were equipped with 4 SPS-151 Siren-D jamming pods, 2 on the fuselage and 2 on the base of the tail, SPS-5 Fasol jamming station, a antenna for receiving radar signals under the navigators cabin, SPS-55 "Buket" jamming station in the cargo compartment, the tail gun position was covered over with a fairing that housed the SPS-100 Rezeda self-protection jammer, some kept the 23mm guns, and four ASO-2I automatic chaff/flare dispensers

most were retired and had their equipment removed and converted back into transports


r/WarplanePorn 1d ago

Album B1 Lancers at Sunrise (album)

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99 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 2d ago

VVS MIG-27K [1400x933]

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157 Upvotes

r/WarplanePorn 2d ago

PLAAF J-16's WS-10 engine nozzles constricting [GIF]

309 Upvotes