Ideal PLAAF Modifications

I would rather chose to improve the WP-6s, improve their reliability, make them lighter, and perhaps add a digital FADEC to improve on their efficiency. Its hard to say but something tells me they may have already done their part. The Q-5 is an old aircraft but one that has been hammered and refined throughout all these years that every bolt and nut on it has been reconsidered.

I think once they can make the engines locally for the L-15, that for me can be made into a potential CAS aircraft on a single seater mode.

Why not make FC-1 into a CAS air craft? just armour up the cockpit and the engine, then add twin 30mm guns, sacrifice some thrust to weight ratio and internal fuel load, put in a smaller radar and a full optronics suit, and you have a dedicated CAS plane.

Sacrifice fuel load? As a light fighter, its range isn't that great, loitering time will be much worse if you take out fuel.

Since the JF-17 can designed originally with the ability for laser guided weapons, I don';t thhink you really need to modify anything. The A-10 only had a laser guidance and it did well. CAS missions doesn't need GPS, unless maybe you are trying to help take out bunkers/buildings during an offensive.

If you want to carry more, you can always use multi-missile/bomb racks.

King_Comm said:

==Delta wings of J-10 give it much higher take off and landing speed than F-16, so it's not safe to carry too much.

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The wings on the F-16 are clipped deltas, so that does not have much of a difference. The wing area of the J-10 is much greater than the F-16's, which means less wing loading. In the videos, we have seen J-10s taking off and landing at short distances, each taking rather steep angles in take off and approach. These kinds of stunts suggest the plane has low wing loading,and afford lower landing and takeoff speeds.

I think its more of the question of the width of the wings. There has to be a minimum distance between pylons and the attached payloads, otherwise you would have aerodynamic intererence.