J-15 carrier fighter thread
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
I thought it would be worthwhile and interesting to look at the two principle STOBAR carrier aircraft for Russia and China...the J-15 and the SU-33.
The J-15 is coming on strong and has a bright future, the SU-33 is fading.
Here's an in service J-15:
Here's an in service SU-33:
Here's a comparison of characteristics:
Here's a picture of J-15s on board the Liaoning:
Here's a picture of SU-33s on board the Kuznetsov:
As I say, the J-15 is up and coming.
I expect there will be at least three carrier air wings of these aircraft built, along with the requisite training squadron and probably others for test and eval and for contingency concerns.
Something like 80+ aircraft perhaps for the PLAN before all is said and done..
The SU-33 is done. No more will be built.
The 19 that Russia has will be it, and I expect they will be replaced by the newer Mig-29K aircraft in the future.
The J-15 is coming on strong and has a bright future, the SU-33 is fading.
Here's an in service J-15:
Here's an in service SU-33:
Here's a comparison of characteristics:
Here's a picture of J-15s on board the Liaoning:
Here's a picture of SU-33s on board the Kuznetsov:
As I say, the J-15 is up and coming.
I expect there will be at least three carrier air wings of these aircraft built, along with the requisite training squadron and probably others for test and eval and for contingency concerns.
Something like 80+ aircraft perhaps for the PLAN before all is said and done..
The SU-33 is done. No more will be built.
The 19 that Russia has will be it, and I expect they will be replaced by the newer Mig-29K aircraft in the future.
It was really smart and good for Russia that they have had India funded the development of MiG-29K...
Yes...the Russians were very smart about that.
Actually, IMHO, the SU-33 is not a bad aircraft.
But the Russians have only one carrier. They simply do not have the money to afford upgrading so few aircraft, when they have the Mig-29K now developed and more modern to turn to.
If the Russians had ever built 3 or 4 carriers, and over time had deployed SU-33s to them, then they would have had the numbers and impetus to continue developing and improving the aircraft.
That is what the Chinese are doing.
These are large, strong airframes, very maneuverable., good range, and capable of carrying a lot of ordinance. All good combinations for a carrier if you can afford them and keep them up to date and relevant.
manqiangrexue
Brigadier
In the comparison table, how come the J-15 is lighter, has greater engine thrust, the same air frame (dimensions) but then has lower speed than the Su-33? It also has greater range and service ceiling, which would make sense. I always thought J-15 could reach mach 2.4.
JayBird
Junior Member
I think it was because the chart's comparison was done with J-15 using 2X WS-10A engines, and SU-33 using AL-31F3 engines. And because we don't know much about WS-10A varian specifications, the information on the chart can only be look at mainly as interesting speculation for now. They are not necessarily accurate.
The J-15 and all current production Chinese aircraft use structural carbon fibre, which can be lighter? in certain situations, as to top speed the J-15 has been optimized for high lift at low airspeeds in order to increase the safety margin on the carrier ops.
Some of those devices may create a little residual drag even when stowed?? or the Russians "could be" a little generous with their top end figures??? its happened before?? and it will happen again! LOL
Flankers can only exceed Mach 2 if they fly naked.
which, depending on the company you keep could get pretty ugly, think I'll stick to Mach 1.9