J-35 carrier fighter (PLAN) thread

Deino

Deino

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Errys said:
China’s J-20 carrier-based jet fighter influenced by US – not Soviet – thinking, designer says
  • As the race to find the best platform for a modified fighter hots up, designer wins critics’ support by selling the American angle
  • PLA Navy ‘should choose a reliable platform that has a long combat range and potential for development … and the best choice is the J-20,’ expert says
Minnie Chan
Published: 10:00pm, 2 Aug, 2020

The chief designer of the J-20 said the plane was a better match for US fighters.

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The chief designer of the J-20 said the plane was a better match for US fighters. Photo: Xinhua

As tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to rise, China’s military aircraft designers are racing to develop a next-generation fighter jet for use on the nation’s aircraft carriers capable of competing with their American rivals.

The two contenders are Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute (CADI), which is working on a modified version of its J-20, and Shenyang Aircraft Design Institute, which is adapting its FC-31.

While both aircraft have been in development for many years, CADI’s chief designer, Yang Wei, said recently the J-20 was a better match for US fighters.

The aircraft was inspired by American theories on air combat and jet development, he said in a recent article published in the Chinese journal Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica.

Military observers said that by openly stating he had learned from American ideas, Yang was trying to promote the modified J-20 as a superior option to the adapted FC-31, which is based on much older, Soviet, designs.

The designer also said in the article that the US military had been able to develop a carrier-based jet fighter and put it into mass production in less than six years.

“If the [Chinese] leadership decides to use the FC-31 as the platform for the new carrier-based fighter, it would be at least 10 years before it was ready for full deployment, by which time the Americans would be even further ahead,” said a person with links to the military, who asked not to be named.

Yang said in the article, which was widely shared on military news websites, it was essential that the next-generation fighter had a long combat range, enhanced stealth capabilities and a bigger weapon load.


Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said Yang wanted to prove the J-20 was not only a fifth-generation fighter, but could be a platform for “advanced induction reaction devices and other new technologies” capable of targeting the shortcomings of its American rival, the F-22 Raptor.

Fifth-generation fighters feature stealth technology, supersonic cruising speeds, super manoeuvrability and highly integrated avionics.

Zhou said that in the past, China’s aircraft designers had been heavily influenced by Russian thinking and because of that focused almost exclusively on the fighting capabilities of their jets. But Yang, he said, stressed the need to consider other factors as well.

“Because of the Russian influence, Chinese designers ignored things like avionics systems and weapons,” Zhou said. “Russia’s MiG-29, for instance, had no chance of competing with its American counterpart, the all-weather multirole F-16.”

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China’s FC-31 is up to 12 tonnes lighter than the J-20. Photo: Weibo

One possible disadvantage of the J-20 as a carrier-based fighter is that it is much heavier than the FC-31. China’s newest aircraft carriers will be fitted with an electromagnetic catapult launch system, which although reducing take-off times comes with a weight restriction.

With a maximum weight of 25 tonnes, the FC-31 is up to 12 tonnes lighter than the J-20 and about three metres (10 feet) shorter.


The FC-31 was developed to match the United States’ F-35, which was built by Lockheed Martin and the platform for the carrier-based F-35B and F-35C.

Despite that comparison, Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Tong said the FC-31 was no match for the F-35 in terms of manoeuvrability or firepower.

“Based on China’s current technology and production capacity, the PLA Navy should choose a reliable platform that has a long combat range and potential for development. And the best choice for that is the J-20,” he said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: J-20 carrier-based fighter ‘influenced by US ideas’
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PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY REPORTS FROM MINNIE CHAN....
 
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longmarch

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Bltizo said:
Why is it ridiculous?

The carrier variant of FC-31 is obviously going to be a new fighter, and by the sounds of it the PLAN only committed to a design for its carrier based 5th gen fighter a few years ago. It's not like the FC-31 was designed from the outset to be a carrier based fighter and the PLA never committed to it themselves until the PLAN did either.

What is more important is how long the development of the J-XY/J-35 takes. I have a feeling the years of flight testing the two FC-31 v1 and v2 prototypes will have some benefit.
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Why it took so long though. They know 003 is coming, and voila, no stealth carrier jet. What a joke.
 
T

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
longmarch said:
Why it took so long though. They know 003 is coming, and voila, no stealth carrier jet. What a joke.
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Regarding no stealthy jet for 003, maybe PLAN does not see a stealth carrier jet as a top priority thing compared with many other programs in hand? The list includes the carrier itself, the new SSN/SSBN and many 055s all of them have higher priority. There is always a limit of defense budget and limit number of engineers.

Regarding the seemingly long time, think this, it took a long time for PLAN to commit to a stealthy jet, BUT the development work on the jet has started long ago, no time is wasted. The overall time span from prototype to commission could be just the same as J-20 or slightly longer.
 
asif iqbal

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
a 5th generation fighter for naval operations is needed

KJ600 is out and we now want to see J-35 V3 for navy

come on 2020 show us the goodies

it would mean 003 is a top tier carrier for truly global ambitions

that would leave only H20 for revealing

because I waiting for 3 projects, H20, J-35 Naval and KJ600

now 2 left
 
D

defenceman

Junior Member
Registered Member
Hi if possible to answer some Q by somebody with more knowledge will be appreciated
1 Is it necessary to for Chinese Navy ( now im not saying at the moment ) to have stealth for carrier operations
2 what is the first chain of island radius from the mainland & a possibility for Chinese airforce to back & forth till
the end of the chain
3 can it a be a possibility because of only 3 ACC on line Navy is not feeling much vulnerable to defend their shores
at the moment because of less ACC to petrol around the world and going much deeper outside their area so often
as my thoughts are that’s why J31 or Jxx is not coming online before overcoming its deficiencies
4 what is the possibility of detecting F35 from the mainland or the island of chains with radar detections
if it’s possible for someone to answer
thank you
 
EdgeOfEcho

EdgeOfEcho

Junior Member
Registered Member
asif iqbal said:
a 5th generation fighter for naval operations is needed

KJ600 is out and we now want to see J-35 V3 for navy

come on 2020 show us the goodies

it would mean 003 is a top tier carrier for truly global ambitions

that would leave only H20 for revealing

because I waiting for 3 projects, H20, J-35 Naval and KJ600

now 2 left
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Wasn’t there a post some time ago from Shenyang saying a new gen (5th gen) fighter’s maiden flight is planned in 2021? Shenyang designed J-15 and FC-31, it is likely that the next carrier jet will be designed by them as well. If true, you probably need to wait another year to see it...
 
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