jawad
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Military Aspects of the Air Show China 2008 Part 1
The biannual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (also known as Zhuhai Air Show or Air Show China) was held in the southern city of Zhuhai between 4th and 9th November 2008. This is the 7th such airshow to be held by China since 1996. This year’s show featured the biggest line-up of Chinese-made civil and military aircraft, as well as aviation systems and conventional weapon systems developed by the Chinese aircraft industry. For the first time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has sent its aircraft in current service to participate in the event.
The 7th Zhuhai Air Show coincided with the recent merge of China’s two consortia of aircraft manufacturers – China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC-I) and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC-II). Once a single entity, they were divided in 1999 in order to boost competition and as a consequence drive efficiency. However, the restructuring had not worked as expected and running the two separately also split resources and resulted in duplicates in investments. The newly merged China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) has brought a wide range of aircraft designs, aviation systems, and conventional weapon systems to the show.
PLAAF Debut
Previously the PLAAF had shied away from the Zhuhai air show, largely due to the concern that its military secrets may be disclosed. In previous years’ shows, Chinese indigenous military aircraft were only displayed in forms of prototypes and demonstrators carrying manufacturer liveries. This year, the PLAAF sent a line-up of seven combat and support aircraft to participate in both static displays and flight demonstrations, providing a valuable opportunity to examine some of its latest inventory at a close range. PLAAF aircraft displayed this year include two two J-10 fighters, two J-8D fighters, a JH-7A fighter-bomber, a H-6 refuelling tanker, and a Y-8 turboprop transport aircraft. Additionally, the PLA Army Aviation Corps sent three helicopters: a Z-8 helicopter, a Z-9GA attack helicopter, a Mi-171 helicopter to the air show. The China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) also displayed its L-15 advanced jet trainer and Z-11G attack helicopter.
Fighter Aircraft Technologies
This year for the first time general public was allowed to watch the PLAAF’s J-10 multirole fighter in both static display and flight demonstration. The aircraft, which entered service with the PLAAF in 2003, is likely to become available in the export market in the years to come. Pakistan has reportedly ordered 32~40 J-10 fighters and the deliver is expected to begin in 2009. :china: Currently the aircraft is powered by a Russian AL-31FN turbofan, but China is developing an indigenous turbofan WS-10 to power future J-10 productions.
However, there were some important designs missing in this year’s air show. Previously it was reported that the Pakistani Air Force was going to send two of its Chengdu JF-17 (a.k.a. FC-1 in its Chinese designation) to the air show, but the plan was cancelled the last minute possibly due to security concerns. Instead, a FC-1 training simulator was displayed in the air show. Another absentee was the J-11B, which was said to be based on the Russian Su-27SK airframe but fitted with Chinese indigenous avionics and weapon suites. The aircraft has been developed by AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) since 2001.
China is known to have been developing its next-generation fighter aircraft since the late 1990s. So far no much detail regarding the programme has been disclosed, but some technologies potentially linked to the future Chinese fighter aircraft could still be found in this year’s air show. One example being the a ‘glass’ fighter cockpit developed by AVIC, featuring a panoramic display system that resembles that of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightening II.
Air-Launched Weapons
Air-to-air weapons displayed in this year’s Zhuhai air show included the PL-5E, PL-9 and TY-90 IR-homing short-range AAM, as well as the SD-10 active radar-homing medium-range AAM, all of which were developed by the Luoyang-based China Academy of Air-to-Air Missile. Historically China was behind Russian and Western countries in the precision strike weapon technology but it has been quickly catching up. The LeiTing-2 (LT-2) 500kg laser-guided bomb (LGB) and LeiShi-6 (LS-6) precision-guided glide bomb first revealed in 2006 return to the air show this year. Additionally, a new design known as LeiTing-3 (LT-3) features a combined laser/GPS/inertial guidance for capability to operate in all-weather conditions.
The biannual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (also known as Zhuhai Air Show or Air Show China) was held in the southern city of Zhuhai between 4th and 9th November 2008. This is the 7th such airshow to be held by China since 1996. This year’s show featured the biggest line-up of Chinese-made civil and military aircraft, as well as aviation systems and conventional weapon systems developed by the Chinese aircraft industry. For the first time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has sent its aircraft in current service to participate in the event.
The 7th Zhuhai Air Show coincided with the recent merge of China’s two consortia of aircraft manufacturers – China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC-I) and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC-II). Once a single entity, they were divided in 1999 in order to boost competition and as a consequence drive efficiency. However, the restructuring had not worked as expected and running the two separately also split resources and resulted in duplicates in investments. The newly merged China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) has brought a wide range of aircraft designs, aviation systems, and conventional weapon systems to the show.
PLAAF Debut
Previously the PLAAF had shied away from the Zhuhai air show, largely due to the concern that its military secrets may be disclosed. In previous years’ shows, Chinese indigenous military aircraft were only displayed in forms of prototypes and demonstrators carrying manufacturer liveries. This year, the PLAAF sent a line-up of seven combat and support aircraft to participate in both static displays and flight demonstrations, providing a valuable opportunity to examine some of its latest inventory at a close range. PLAAF aircraft displayed this year include two two J-10 fighters, two J-8D fighters, a JH-7A fighter-bomber, a H-6 refuelling tanker, and a Y-8 turboprop transport aircraft. Additionally, the PLA Army Aviation Corps sent three helicopters: a Z-8 helicopter, a Z-9GA attack helicopter, a Mi-171 helicopter to the air show. The China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) also displayed its L-15 advanced jet trainer and Z-11G attack helicopter.
Fighter Aircraft Technologies
This year for the first time general public was allowed to watch the PLAAF’s J-10 multirole fighter in both static display and flight demonstration. The aircraft, which entered service with the PLAAF in 2003, is likely to become available in the export market in the years to come. Pakistan has reportedly ordered 32~40 J-10 fighters and the deliver is expected to begin in 2009. :china: Currently the aircraft is powered by a Russian AL-31FN turbofan, but China is developing an indigenous turbofan WS-10 to power future J-10 productions.
However, there were some important designs missing in this year’s air show. Previously it was reported that the Pakistani Air Force was going to send two of its Chengdu JF-17 (a.k.a. FC-1 in its Chinese designation) to the air show, but the plan was cancelled the last minute possibly due to security concerns. Instead, a FC-1 training simulator was displayed in the air show. Another absentee was the J-11B, which was said to be based on the Russian Su-27SK airframe but fitted with Chinese indigenous avionics and weapon suites. The aircraft has been developed by AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) since 2001.
China is known to have been developing its next-generation fighter aircraft since the late 1990s. So far no much detail regarding the programme has been disclosed, but some technologies potentially linked to the future Chinese fighter aircraft could still be found in this year’s air show. One example being the a ‘glass’ fighter cockpit developed by AVIC, featuring a panoramic display system that resembles that of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightening II.
Air-Launched Weapons
Air-to-air weapons displayed in this year’s Zhuhai air show included the PL-5E, PL-9 and TY-90 IR-homing short-range AAM, as well as the SD-10 active radar-homing medium-range AAM, all of which were developed by the Luoyang-based China Academy of Air-to-Air Missile. Historically China was behind Russian and Western countries in the precision strike weapon technology but it has been quickly catching up. The LeiTing-2 (LT-2) 500kg laser-guided bomb (LGB) and LeiShi-6 (LS-6) precision-guided glide bomb first revealed in 2006 return to the air show this year. Additionally, a new design known as LeiTing-3 (LT-3) features a combined laser/GPS/inertial guidance for capability to operate in all-weather conditions.
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