J-35 carrier fighter (PLAN) thread

[gongolongo]

Can someone tell my why China is investing in a medium weight 5th gen for their navy while they had almost exclusively focused on heavy fighters in every other aspect? What advantages does it give against a naval fighter derived from J-20? They neither possess tremendous experience in carrier based operations nor do they regularly project their power beyond their border, wouldn't it be better for them to choose a fighter than can fly much further and operate so that the carrier group can remain in safer waters?

There has been a single aircraft for carriers and that's the J-15. It wasn't even because they had a choice either.

Heavy fighters suck for carriers for a multitude of reasons.

 

[gelgoog]

Carrier aircrafts tend to have bigger emptyweight because of strutural needs and arresting hook.

A carrier aircraft is typically heavier because it has the folding wing mechanism, the hook, the structural reinforcements to handle the airframe stresses of the hook landing and the catapult launch. It might also have larger wings to improve flight at low altitude for carrier landings.
One thing that is worth considering though, is that EMALS is supposed to cause less airframe stress on catapult launch than a steam catapult. The acceleration is more constant with the linear motor instead of being a big bang at the start like with steam.
So it might be that an aircraft designed from the start for EMALS, like the J-35, will need less structural reinforcement than the F/A-18, or the F-35, which still need to be compatible with the steam catapult carriers the US continues to operate.

 

[Atomicfrog]

A carrier aircraft is typically heavier because it has the folding wing mechanism, the hook, the structural reinforcements to handle the airframe stresses of the hook landing and the catapult launch. It might also have larger wings to improve flight at low altitude for carrier landings.
One thing that is worth considering though, is that EMALS is supposed to cause less airframe stress on catapult launch than a steam catapult. The acceleration is more constant with the linear motor instead of being a big bang at the start like with steam.
So it might be that an aircraft designed from the start for EMALS, like the J-35, will need less structural reinforcement than the F/A-18, or the F-35, which still need to be compatible with the steam catapult carriers the US continues to operate.

It depend if they will be used on stobar carrier ramp too... will be interesting to see if they do.

Internal weapon probably help diminish stress on the wings when landing with standard mission payload too. Wings hardpoints take some hard punch when landing with heavy ordnance.

 

[tamsen_ikard]

In western media and expert circles, it is almost expected knowledge that F-35 is considered more advanced than Chinese stealth planes like J-20 or coming J-35. Eventhough J-35 will come almost 15-20 years after the F-35. How true is this? Is J-35 just a catch up to the US tech that came 15 years before? Or is there something more advanced than F-35 in the J-35 even if some of the subsystems are just catchup.

 

[vincent]

In western media and expert circles, it is almost expected knowledge that F-35 is considered more advanced than Chinese stealth planes like J-20 or coming J-35. Eventhough J-35 will come almost 15-20 years after the F-35. How true is this? Is J-35 just a catch up to the US tech that came 15 years before? Or is there something more advanced than F-35 in the J-35 even if some of the subsystems are just catchup.

F-35 got and is getting updates. F-35 today is very different from F-35 from 15 years ago.

 

[tamsen_ikard]

F-35 got and is getting updates. F-35 today is very different from F-35 from 15 years ago.

But F-35 is fixed in terms of its general design. J-35 is still being developed and should have more advancements in terms of design of the airframe, plumbing, materials and other aspects that did not exist in 2000-2005 period when F-35 was designed.

 

[vincent]

But F-35 is fixed in terms of its general design. J-35 is still being developed and should have more advancements in terms of design of the airframe, plumbing, materials and other aspects that did not exist in 2000-2005 period when F-35 was designed.

Maybe F-35 got better RAM materials? More composites?

 

[Blitzo]

In western media and expert circles, it is almost expected knowledge that F-35 is considered more advanced than Chinese stealth planes like J-20 or coming J-35. Eventhough J-35 will come almost 15-20 years after the F-35. How true is this? Is J-35 just a catch up to the US tech that came 15 years before? Or is there something more advanced than F-35 in the J-35 even if some of the subsystems are just catchup.

All aircraft receive upgrades and may have new variants developed (in the case of F-35) after they enter service.

If you are asking how to rationalize "western media and expert circles" and their narratives, that is something entirely different because much of that narrative is derived from a way to try and rationalize continued inferiority of Chinese systems to whatever most recent systems or capabilities the US or the west has... in which case the answer to your question is "lol lmao"

 

[Wrought]

In western media and expert circles, it is almost expected knowledge that F-35 is considered more advanced than Chinese stealth planes like J-20 or coming J-35. Eventhough J-35 will come almost 15-20 years after the F-35. How true is this? Is J-35 just a catch up to the US tech that came 15 years before? Or is there something more advanced than F-35 in the J-35 even if some of the subsystems are just catchup.

It seems to me that your question is entirely too broad. You should narrow it down to specific components, like for instance with the engines. The F135 is almost certainly more capable than the WS-19, based on what information is publically available. But bear in mind that many specifics are not public knowledge.

 

[gelgoog]

It seems to me that your question is entirely too broad. You should narrow it down to specific components, like for instance with the engines. The F135 is almost certainly more capable than the WS-19, based on what information is publically available. But bear in mind that many specifics are not public knowledge.

Not really. If the estimated specs for the WS-19 are met it shouldn't be behind the F135. There is more to engines than thrust. The engine is much smaller and lighter than the F135. You will need to look at thrust to weight, and fuel consumption.