J-10 Thread III (Closed to posting)

[plawolf]

Re: J-10s in China's Tibet province

J-10s in China's Tibet province

[Note: Thank you to "A.Man" for the picture.]

Wonder how long it will take before the Indian media have a freak out over this...

 

[Deino]

Via "pinko" (Key-Forum)

 

[Lion]

I think we can comfirm its an AESA.. PESA needs space to move around. I don't think the radome can move in that constraint space.

 

[Inst]

It's the aliasing on the radar that makes me think it's a PESA; the small modules on a PESA would be more likely to be aliased by the photograph than it would be if it's a PESA.

There's also the issue of the bulky backing behind the radar. A PESA is distinguished from an AESA by using a Klystron or magnetron to generate its radar signals, instead of having the signals be generated by each transmit-receive unit. The large backing behind the radar suggests that the J-10B in the picture is using a PESA, not an AESA.

Besides, AESAs are very expensive, and the J-10B is built to be a F-16 equivalent, which is a low-cost but highly effective multi-role fighter.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Besides, AESAs are very expensive, and the J-10B is built to be a F-16 equivalent, which is a low-cost but highly effective multi-role fighter.

How do you explain the F-16E?

 

[siegecrossbow]

I take back my previous conclusion. Big shrimps on CD believe that the radar in question is a PESA radar.

 

[Martian]

Frontal view of China's J-10B with AESA/PESA radar

Frontal view of China's J-10B with AESA/PESA radar

[Note: Thank you to Marchpole and Deino for the picture.]

 

[Inst]

So it's not aliasing. You can tell it's a PESA because on an AESA, all the modules are identical, but on this PESA, you have what are apparently holes on a horizontal line.

It would be interesting if the Chinese attempted a PESA/AESA hybrid; the problem for Chinese AESA is that at last check, the cost of Chinese AESA modules was 25k USD a piece, whereas Western modules tend to be around 2 thousand or 1 thousand a piece. It would allow the radar to cut costs as well as improve capability over basic PESA.

 

[Inst]

The figures I'm getting for the brand new F-16E is that the deal was at 80 million per plane, including spares, and around 55 million per plane as a standalone.

That's more than the Flankers the PLA is running.

The J-11Bs can run AESA because they're intrinsically a more expensive platform dedicated to air superiority, the J-20 can run AESA because it's expected to be $100 million a pop, at minimum, and the AWACS can run AESA because they're more than 100 million a pop, so the additional cost isn't that much on heavier platforms.

For the J-10B, until the Chinese can manage to get the cost down, which is something the Americans are still having trouble with, it will be run on PESA until manufacturing can produce cheap Chinese AESA modules.

 

[i.e.]

Re: Frontal view of China's J-10B with AESA/PESA radar

I can tell you that in 14th Institute there are no "high priority" PESA airborne radar projects

as far as cost goes that's old news.