Bro looking super relaxed after downing several Rafales, whilst gal looking super constipated and was about to sh*t her pants in front of her foreign trainee.
J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31
- Thread starter ACuriousPLAFan
- Start date
This looks like the same video, different audio tho
Already posted
To be honest if it truly is the export variant this is rather shocking news to me, I expected that the J-35 wouldn't be exported until after 2040. I expected it to go like the J-10 where the plane wasn't exported until 18 years after it was commissioned.
There's a 10? year backlog if you want to order F-35s, which is the only other 5th Gen stealth fighter available for export sales. And can you rely on the US anymore?
In comparison, I think a J-35 export order could be delivered in 2-3 years, given what I expect the J-35 production ramp to be (40+ annually), and that we're already at 100+ J-20 per year.
So sparing some J-35 for exports is not a big deal
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If it does end up happening that early (i.e. before the 30's) I will be shocked, at least I expect that they will be heavily downgraded compared to the models the PLA uses but even then I am pretty sure they will be the best fighter available for import other than the F-35.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
The circumstances are vastly different today compared to the J10’s time.
The J10 was China’s first, one and only truly competitive indigenous fighter. Back then, China’s aviation industry was also still in its infancy, so there was no real viable alternative to the radar and avionics suit that the PLAAF uses which would be used on the export variant. So of course the PLA was massively cagey about exporting it, as they didn’t have anything better coming just over the horizon, and there was a genuine risk that opfor could glean operationally relevant information about the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the PLAAF’s own J10s radar and avionics suits by studying export variants.
Today, not only is the J20 operationally deployed in vast numbers, there are two manned 6th gen programmes both with flying prototypes.
On top of the myriad of UCAV designs, you also have a vast and highly competitive domestic aviation industry with multiple vendors offering competitive full avionics suits.
All the PLA would need to do is ban the export of the variant they use for export, and any tailored counters to the export variants will have minimal relevance against the version the PLA itself uses.
Chinese industry also has vastly greater experience with export variants, and so can offer the PLA far greater assurances that exports will not compromise domestic versions.
Allowing the J35 for export is a must to remain competitive and present a viable alternative to America on the world stage. Big exports of the type would also allow SAC to ramp up production capacities, which would ultimately benefit the PLA if it wants to ramp up output numbers in the future.
Finally, having a big export market will also help to directly support the vibrant Chinese domestic aviation industry by allowing second best radar and avionics makers to secure big contracts to give them more capital for R&D and production capacity expansion to keep the current top dogs on their toes as the increased competition is how the PLA ensures it always gets the best equipment in the future.
The J-20 is the topline fighter.
Then the Chinese Air Force J-35 is supposed to be a more affordable, downgraded variant of the naval J-31.
In terms of numbers and range, it will be the J-20 conducting front line operations, with the J-35 in a more supporting role.
So China could export the standard Air Force J-35 variant with minimal issues
It is of course true that the J-20 is the best of the best currently in service, never to be exported (or at least not before the sixth generation fighters enter service in large numbers) but the J-35 is no junk at all, it is a very formidable asset that exporting it that early is very unexpected. For example I don't see how the J-35 can't go toe to toe with the F-35 over mainland airspace, integrated with ground based AD. I will be interested to see if any will be exported with the WS-19, because each one that would be exported would deprive the PLA of fielding a native variant.