J-10 Thread IV
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
What is that big belly for anyway?
That is quite an interesting theory. It certainly would make sense for China to be replacing reconaissance versions of J-8 as soon as possible. Getting rid of support for J-7/8 from PLAAF would be a big win.
Agreed J8 should go but to replace it with another manned fighter type seems a bit...old school. Isn't this role better suited to UAVs?
Maybe it is not really a new variant but simply the first J-10C carrying such a pod? ... and indeed, something like this - here the MRP (Modular Reconnaissance Pod) - would make a lot of sense:
Maybe the pod can be interchangeably mounted to UAVs?
Current UAVs are still too vulnerable in contested air space whereas a fighter can perform this role with minimal escort and can still have some self-defense capabilities(arguable point since SRAAM mounts are becoming more common on UAVs) and perform evasive maneuvers.
The current main advantages of UAV reconnaissance versus are operating costs, loiter time and the fact that they are unmanned. There are UAVs with speed advantages but they trade that with loiter time so I would say a fighter would be still balanced mix of both worlds.
You could argue that the PLA can put up large numbers of both types in a swarm network to make redundant the role of a fighter with a reconnaissance pod but the PLA might think that capability is too far off in the future before the JC-8Fs are phased out.
A recon pod would still have uses in Naval aviation as deck space will be limited and having a dedicated recon UAV might not justify the deck space.