plawolf
Lieutenant General
If the J10B is significantly more expensive than the J10A, the vast majority of the cost difference will be down to the better AESA radar and avionics. But if the PLAAF wants their J10As to stay competitive in the coming decades, they would need to upgrade and replace the J10A's radars and avionics at some point.
However much the J10B costs more than the J10A, I dare say it is going to be less that what it would cost to build a J10A, and then later strip out and replace its radar and most of its avionics.
Since CAC is still pumping out new J10As at a steady clip, it makes sense for them to switch production to the J10B ASAP to save on them having to upgrade them later.
I see the scale of the work between the J10A and J10B as similar to that of the F18C/D Vs F18E/F. They both share the same layout and main aerodynamics of their predecessors, but there is so much work and the new planes are so different compared to the originals that they might as well be brand new clean sheet designs.
5th gens are great and all, but they still cannot be at two places at the same time, and the J10A/B will be one of the workhorses of the PLAAF for may years to come.
However much the J10B costs more than the J10A, I dare say it is going to be less that what it would cost to build a J10A, and then later strip out and replace its radar and most of its avionics.
Since CAC is still pumping out new J10As at a steady clip, it makes sense for them to switch production to the J10B ASAP to save on them having to upgrade them later.
I see the scale of the work between the J10A and J10B as similar to that of the F18C/D Vs F18E/F. They both share the same layout and main aerodynamics of their predecessors, but there is so much work and the new planes are so different compared to the originals that they might as well be brand new clean sheet designs.
5th gens are great and all, but they still cannot be at two places at the same time, and the J10A/B will be one of the workhorses of the PLAAF for may years to come.
