In the present state it is more of a 5.75 gen. Not sure PLAAF will take the penalty in engine capability/power generation for a half baked design when mature 5.5 gen like J-20A/S and loyal wingmen are available.
Chengdu next gen combat aircraft (?J-36)
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Never understood why people are rushing so much, I would rather hope for a 6th gen that is actually 6th gen with proper VCEs and all systems as intended on first delivery than go through J-20 hell again and wonder everyday when it's finally going to have a proper engine or when are they going to install this or that.
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. If war starts, it is better to have trained pilots with J-36 with WS-15 than nothing.
They did the right thing for J-20. Do you rather have hundreds of J-20 like right now or the tens that just got off the production line with the WS-15?
There is no rush, USAF's prototype isn't meant to fly for another 2 years. J-20 was forced into production in very different circumstances than today where PLA forces is approaching parity and exceeding in some areas compared to the US. Given that a conflict is probably not likely in the next few years and even it is, the PLA still likely holds parity or better, there is no reason to make design compromises in development just so they can rush it into service before 2030 as people are hoping for.
If China is in an emergency war and needs to deploy prototype J-36, it can probably do so. Otherwise there is no use developing a lower spec early development version, and it wouldn't be a game changer anyway. If a situation arises where China actually needs to deploy the current prototype J-36 in a war, things have gone very badly already and it won't be changed by 3 or 4 aircraft.
well if J-36 can be rushed into service then it is probably worth it to rush into service, simply because it still takes time for PLAAF to figure out how to best use the aircraft.
What would the point be though? If the engines aren't ready, the radar is still being developed or China is working on technology for a next generation radar, the software and AU integration, and even missile systems, it just seems like a waste of money to develop a production pipeline for an aircraft which is incomplete in almost every aspect. The various J-20 versions currently in use are more than enough until the aircraft is ready. Rushing means spending unnecessary money and resources that can be completely be avoided with patients. The U.S. fielding of their 6th gen aircraft is also quite a few years away and they haven't even given proper funding to the naval variant. China is in a position where it doesn't need to catch up anymore, it just needs to wait for WS-15 J-20A to enter service in large numbers. The Americans are having their own problems with F-22 modernization and F-35 TR3 and 4, things are completely okay and there is no need for rash decisions.
I think even with less engine power it would be extremely useful to have the J-36 available as a way to ensure no tacair support like tankers or AWACS can operate at a safe distance from threats anywhere in the WestPac theater. That alone would dramatically complicate tactical operations for the USN and USAF. Flying out 1000 nm armed with PL-17s while being very hard to spot and interdict essentially scratches any assumption that air support operations for the US would be sustainable enough to be counted on in a war. Massive headache for US war planning.
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If China uses military force to complete reunification and take Taiwan, it also gets to set its own schedule as to when that takes place. The J-36 is just one of many systems in development that will allow the Chinese military to be in complete parity if not ahead of the US military. New missiles, new submarines, new drones, new AEW&C, new destroyers, new frigates, new carriers, new lasers, ect are all in development or close to starting LRIP. The J-36 will be ready when it's ready, which appears to be in line with many of these other systems. The only other major risk of military conflict is *maybe* with Japan, but Japan is essentially a US puppet state and if the US doesn't want Japan to go to war with China, it has the influence to do so. We should hopefully only be 5 to 7 years away from J-36 being ready at the latest, and it's very possible it will be ready much sooner than we think.