JF-17/FC-1 Fighter Aircraft thread
- Thread starter johnqh
- Start date
plawolf
Lieutenant General
As a general rule, the more capabilities you want to fit into a fighter, the more time consuming it gets. That is because as you pack more and more stuff into a set space, you find you need to shift existing parts around to make space. Often even that isn’t enough and you end up with physical extensions to the airframe itself, be it in the form of CFT, lengthening or avionics spins etc.
The BLK3 upgrades would naturally take longer because not only is it a much bigger increase in capabilities, you also have the existing blk2 upgrades having taken up much of the original available space.
Relaxed FBW restrictions to make the jet more agile could also require additional airframe strengthening, as the previous restrictions weren’t just put in place purely to nerf the plane for lolz and giggles, but rather to keep it within safe operating parameters.
I think the BLK3 will pretty much exhaust all existing airframe upgrade potential, and any further upgrades will probably force the plane to go the F16 route by expanding airframe itself to make room. But at that point you might as well have gone for the J10 as you are pretty much reinventing the wheel to try to achieve J10C level capabilities, but still not quite get there due to the airframe and engine output restrictions.
But I think the PAF is resisting the temptation of the J10C because they want to save up for the J21 or other Chinese fifth gen that will decisively outclass Indian Rafales and give the PAF the kind of technological advantage it needs to hold its own against the IAF’s numerical superiority like during its golden age.
The BLK3 upgrades would naturally take longer because not only is it a much bigger increase in capabilities, you also have the existing blk2 upgrades having taken up much of the original available space.
Relaxed FBW restrictions to make the jet more agile could also require additional airframe strengthening, as the previous restrictions weren’t just put in place purely to nerf the plane for lolz and giggles, but rather to keep it within safe operating parameters.
I think the BLK3 will pretty much exhaust all existing airframe upgrade potential, and any further upgrades will probably force the plane to go the F16 route by expanding airframe itself to make room. But at that point you might as well have gone for the J10 as you are pretty much reinventing the wheel to try to achieve J10C level capabilities, but still not quite get there due to the airframe and engine output restrictions.
But I think the PAF is resisting the temptation of the J10C because they want to save up for the J21 or other Chinese fifth gen that will decisively outclass Indian Rafales and give the PAF the kind of technological advantage it needs to hold its own against the IAF’s numerical superiority like during its golden age.
@siegecrossbow #2, and my reason its payback time UK, and add JH7A as an addition for every purchase of a squadron of JF17...LOL
There've been mentions of Argentina buying Chinese planes before. Nothing came of those. And that was even before the current climate where the US/UK are trying their utmost to isolate China.
So... color me sceptical of that sale. Until we see news of actual contract signature, I don't think it's worthy of thinking about various what-if situations when it comes to big Chinese arms sales in South America.
So... color me sceptical of that sale. Until we see news of actual contract signature, I don't think it's worthy of thinking about various what-if situations when it comes to big Chinese arms sales in South America.
Things were different then. I think ten years ago Argentina wanted to buy Block II and had really strange conditions like full TOT transfer and sending the planes to the US for flight testing evaluations. Apparently they are going for Block III this time, a platform that is far more capable with AESA and full FBW. On top of that, the JF-17 has also participated in combat and though it did not achieve aerial kills in 2019, it demonstrated PAF’s confidence in the aircraft by deploying them in the field of combat. One additional consideration is that relationship between China and Five-Eye nations like GB has soured since the trade war and COVID. China no longer has qualms about exporting aircraft to Argentina in fear of upsetting relations with Britain since the British government is already doing stuff like banning Huawei.
It would be cool to see jf-17 in Argentina, but they are cash screwed more or less. It will not happen, they will get something like second hand Mirage 2000 or whatever cheapest solution available.