J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31 thread
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
any J-35/35A production that is available will be to meet the needs of China. type 003 will likely enter service within the next year so China needs several dozen J-35 for that. PLAAF also needs as many J-35A as it can produce. also type 002 & the 001 also likely need to have J-35.
China cannot afford to start exporting the J-35A when they themselves don't have any yet. only when China has sufficient numbers of the J-35 (maybe in the hundreds) will they start exporting J-35A to other countries. so IMO China will only start exporting J-35 in early to mid 2030s.
J-35A, unlike the J-35 for PLAN, is actually not needed for immediate service.
China won't be exporting the J-35 but the J-35A is probably not needed when the J-20 is being built at upwards of 100 annually. I think you would see the J-35A needed in numbers in the PLAAF once the J-10s are being retired in large numbers.
So there is a distinct possibility that Chiba can allow the J-35A or J-35E rather be exported to a few customers that are important in China's view of things. Obviously, Pakistan would be one but also a few from the Middle East like Egypt or Saudi Arabia which will open up both new markets and strategic footholds.
Can anyone explain to me why J-35 gets green primer while J-20 gets yellow? I know the F35 gets green primer as well.One more.
That's wrong.
What China does need right now is actually plenty more 5th-gen fighters, given the worsening geopolitical and military developments in the WestPac and over the Xizang Plateau. We're looking at not-a-small-number of non-friendly countries surrounding China with growing and prospective fleets of both 5th-gen and 4.5th-gen fighters right now and for the foreseeable future, let alone the ones from faraway. China certainly needs both quality AND quantity to build and maintain at least a slight (if not significant/considerable) advantage/overmatch against her expected opponents.
And by being smaller and less top-tier-ish (compared to the J-35), hence relatively more affordable, the J-35A fits the bill quite well.
If anything, given how the Guancha Trios noted that Chengdu AC is already scraping the celling WRT J-20's production capacity sometime last year - I'd certainly see Shenyang AC joining in being a sight of great relief, given how Chengdu AC won't be as pressured as before, since they would no longer be the only ones hard-pressed by the PLAAF for 5th-gen fighters.
That means instead of having the PLAAF relying solely on Chengdu AC for ~100 J-20/A/Ss as we are right now - Chengdu could gradually reduce their J-20 production capacity to ~80-90 J-20/A/Ss per year, whereas Shenyang AC could gradually increase their annual production rate to ~40-50 J-35As per year for the PLAAF, plus another ~10-20 J-35s for the PLAN (provided that the immediate 5th-gen needs onboard their CVs have been dealt with).
This also means that the spare production capacities at Chengdu AC from the reduction of J-20 production could be dedicated for the production of other warplanes types in the coming years, such as mid-tier and high-tier UCAVs, plus even the upcoming J-36.
The benefits of the J-35A's addition to the PLAAF's fighter fleet can never be overstated. Besides, who's still going to happily boast about procuring many 4.5th-gen fighters into the 2030s and beyond, if they can totally afford a majority-stealth fighter fleet?
As for the J-10A/B/C family (plus the J-11BG family) - While some of them could still be flying around in rear units and doing rather menial tasks (like chasing away opposing aircrafts, patrolling along land & maritime borders, and conducting strike missions when regional aerial control is secured), I certainly wouldn't be surprised if more and more of them are sent for the aircraft boneyards in Western China in the future, even if they still have 10, 15 or even 20 years of life left in them.
As for the past habits - China is getting wealthier. So does the PLA.
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Based on what I heard, most likely just WS-19, but hey, we aren‘t even sure what type of engine which one was on the different prototypes at Zhuhai and here we see at bet a blurry dot where the exhausts are! We need to wait for more and better/clearer images.
Perhaps it makes sense for them to operate 2 lines simultaneously. F35A and F35E.
If China exports these planes it is still good for Chinas security. Pakistan being able to deter India is great for Chinas security. Likewise for quite a many countries in Chinas neighborhood, which they already said they would prioritize for development.
I don’t really think there is anything better available in the global market, and I think it will be affordable for everyone, like Chinese cars. There isn’t really anything better on the export horizon either, so it could be relevant for a long time to come.
You can even integrate it with NATO systems via Pakistans Link 17, or you can just load up all your old F-16s and MiG 29s with PL-15s now as well, all of which forms the system around your new J-35s.
It’s also becoming easier to trade with tokenized assets such as natural resources or commodities allowing even poor countries to leverage their resources for security.
The above make me think that J-35 with PL-15 will be the most successful export plane globally going forward.
I think people will be shocked by how many of these get exported and how quickly.
If China exports these planes it is still good for Chinas security. Pakistan being able to deter India is great for Chinas security. Likewise for quite a many countries in Chinas neighborhood, which they already said they would prioritize for development.
I don’t really think there is anything better available in the global market, and I think it will be affordable for everyone, like Chinese cars. There isn’t really anything better on the export horizon either, so it could be relevant for a long time to come.
You can even integrate it with NATO systems via Pakistans Link 17, or you can just load up all your old F-16s and MiG 29s with PL-15s now as well, all of which forms the system around your new J-35s.
It’s also becoming easier to trade with tokenized assets such as natural resources or commodities allowing even poor countries to leverage their resources for security.
The above make me think that J-35 with PL-15 will be the most successful export plane globally going forward.
I think people will be shocked by how many of these get exported and how quickly.