You must not read Business Insider then. Sometimes they lift entire stories wholesale from SCMP.
PLA Air Force news, pics and videos
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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You must not read Business Insider then. Sometimes they lift entire stories wholesale from SCMP.
I'm concerned for the J-31 rather than J-20. The J-20 is never going to be " thrown away" . It is a neat aircraft that'll ( or must) see into that China is "blessed" with a stealth fighter with 180 KN thrust engines. It is it's primary duty. China acquiring SU57 would be to deny India the chance for acquiring it or dent the confidence of India in the aircraft ( "if my enemy has the same aircraft, then i'm worried that he'll know my weaknesses" ). But J-31 is a concern. I've read that it isn't structurally or aerodynamically a great aircraft, relative to the flankers. I hope they iron out its defects so that they'll have a Hi-Lo mix of stealth fighters. Recently' Janes have reported on a J-18 Snowy Owl STOVL. Then there is the JH-XX and the H-20 etc. Too many programs, too high a chance that one or too would turn out to be cursed to live as museum pieces that present itself as fancy chinese X-planes.
That said, I feel that people are making a mountain out of a molehill at this point. What the Russian official said was that Russia was potentially interested in offering additional Su-35s or even the Su-57 to China. There was and is zero comment on that statement by any official Chinese source. This is almost as bad as the IAF official claiming that regular radars could detect J-20s back in 2018.
J-20 cannot be made carrier capable. I hope china learned very much from the Ukrainian prototype Su-33 they tried to make their own. Not saying that the J-15 is a bad aircraft but to me it isn't a good plane either. They need to have a clean sheet design purely made for carrier operations. The mythical J-18 could be it. But the J-20? Landing a Super Hornet or Mig29K on a carrier is hard enough, imagine landing the J-20. The F-22 doesn't do it.
Sorry, but could you please give a link to this "Recently' Janes have reported on a J-18 Snowy Owl STOVL" report.
I must admit I do not remember a Jane's report recently nor anything on this secret type ... IMO more a hoax than a real project and all we got so far on a J-18 Snowy Owl STOVL was either fan-boy hype, fake or old.
What the Russian official said was a bit gauche - trying to embarrass and goad a "friend" into making a purchase. The worst that can be said about him is that he's a pushy salesman (forgivable, given the present state of Russian finances); the IAF official is just an outright delusional liar. The two are incomparable.
The FC-31/J-31/J-35 with WS-19 engines is actually the more geostrategically significant fighter of the pair. The J-20's strategic purpose - even if used in an operationally offensive manner - is defense of the homeland. China doesn't have the network of foreign airbases to use the J-20 to project power far afield. The FC-31, which by all indications is going to form the fifth-gen carrier air-wing, will be used to project power. Furthermore, as China's export-oriented fighter it will allow China to strengthen key allies, further projecting power.
I am aware of the discussion that happened here in SDF regarding the same,few years ago. But new article on that propped up so I am hoping it is true.
I must admit that my search in Jane's didn't give me any result on the topic. Am i supposed to edit my earlier comments ?
The J-20 isn’t bulkier than the F-14 was. And it is much more pilot friendly.
A J-15 is essentially a navalized J-16. There won’t be anything wrong with it per se in a long time, except for not being stealth.