J-35A fighter (PLAAF) + FC-31 thread

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Cross-posted from the Zhuhai Expo 2024 main thread.

Said J-35A for the PLAAF in question. Posted by the official Weibo account of CCTV7 and @Captain小潇 on Weibo.

 

[ACuriousPLAFan]

Cross-posted from the Zhuhai Expo 2024 thread.

The official Weibo account of the PLAAF has officially confirmed the service entry of the J-35A with the PLAAF.

 

[vincent]

 

[tphuang]

I am quite surprised by this one. Still not sure why we really need to have a PLAAF version of J-35A.

The best reasoning I can come up with are:
1) Supports industrial base with Shenyang AC and keep cost down for both air force and navy
2) Helps provide support for medium sized aeroengine that would both both J-35A and UCAVs
3) Helps with export when your own air force is also buying it.

 

[KampfAlwin]

Does anyone know why the vertical stabilisers on the J-35A is different to the naval one? Wouldn't be easier to just reuse the same stabs for logistics reasons?

 

[THX 1138]

I can't believe they really did name the Air Force variant the J-35A. They're practically inviting accusations of copying the F-35A. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the naval variant was called the J-35C.

And speaking of names, I think it may be time to change the name of this thread. Or perhaps even start a new thread with the new title.

 

[Blitzo]

I'll have a think about how to structure it later today.

 

[Miyayaya]

I can't believe they really did name the Air Force variant the J-35A. They're practically inviting accusations of copying the F-35A. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the naval variant was called the J-35C.

And speaking of names, I think it may be time to change the name of this thread. Or perhaps even start a new thread with the new title.

For certain export customers who won't get the F35 anyway, maybe a "F35 copy" is a plus, not a minus.

 

[aqh]

I am quite surprised by this one. Still not sure why we really need to have a PLAAF version of J-35A.

The best reasoning I can come up with are:
1) Supports industrial base with Shenyang AC and keep cost down for both air force and navy
2) Helps provide support for medium sized aeroengine that would both both J-35A and UCAVs
3) Helps with export when your own air force is also buying it.

A land version of the J-31/5 can be what the F35 is to the F22. Namely, something smaller, single engine and cheaper. With economies of scale if the PLA decides to scale they may be getting a lot of these planes for relatively cheap prices, If this plane is only limited to the navy, its unit costs might be too high.

 

[yungho]

I can't believe they really did name the Air Force variant the J-35A. They're practically inviting accusations of copying the F-35A. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the naval variant was called the J-35C.

And speaking of names, I think it may be time to change the name of this thread. Or perhaps even start a new thread with the new title.

Really wish they went with the J-21/J-25 designations to follow the J-11/J-16 designations for the flanker family. Would've fit perfectly with the J-20 and J-10 parallels.