There's not exactly anything stopping China from choosing a 3 fighter set-up; i.e, a JF-17 analogue, a J-10 analogue, and a J-11 analogue. We know that the J-20 will be the high of the combination, while either the Chengdu J-XXX or the J-31 will be the low or middle. With the specs being advertised, the J-XXX likely be the low, being too low in firepower to be a stealth multirole aircraft.
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- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Why would China need a stealth JF-17 analog? China has no need for it, the poor countries can't afford it, and the richer ones probably will go for the J-31 instead.
How can you say with certainty that China has no need for it? While the world has moved toward multi-role fighters, the advent of stealth and the necessity of internal storage perhaps makes it beneficial once again to have specialized aircrafts. There are only 2 operational stealth fighters right now, and none has been challenged by even a near peer. Who's to say that multi-role is still a valid concept in the age of limited internal storage? Perhaps the PLA has decided that multi-role is impractical for small to medium sized stealth fighters and a force of only large 5th gen fighters is unaffordable, so they've decided to go with a multi-role + air superiority specialist combo?
It's more of a "what's the point" for light stealth fighters. As your post suggested, true stealth aircraft are, by their nature, limited by the need to internal storage and a light stealth fighter simply won't have the space for a useful payload after accounting for internal fuel and avionics. What you get, essentially, is a trainer type aircraft with short legs and shorter mission duration, except it also has a price tag in the hundred-million dollar range to accommodate the "stealth" requirements.
Perhaps, but I don't really know of the exact calculations involved. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but what if the light fighter could be made at 60-70% of cost of production and maintenance, has solid range (say ~800-1000km combat radius with full internal fuel), small weapons load (say 2 PL-15 + 2 PL-10), VLO, and extremely good aerodynamics? It would essentially blow F-35 out of the water in air-to-air combat, and be a F-22 peer in the realm of air superiority, at significantly reduced cost (say $70 million with engine and radar).
The U.S. has a lot of obligations around the world, and they want jets that can fight against the Russians and the Chinese while also being economical fighting against tents and camels. Perhaps the idea of a full fleet of 5th gen fighters capable of doing both is not the best way to go, even with a high-low combo. Perhaps the best idea is to have a 5th gen fleet that focuses on air superiority with both the high and the low, while only the high is capable of executing deep penetration strikes, and have 4th gen multi-role fighters can care of the rest after the initial battles. I mean, the PLA is just starting a supposedly massive run of J-16s, so they must be in the PLAAF's long term plans.
You don't know and I don't know but these are matters that have to be considered when choosing aircraft, and other weapons, to be developed. It makes sense to choose simple aircraft that can be developed in a "short" time or more complex aircraft able to undertake a larger variety of tasks depending on a large variety of considerations among them whether the assumptions made at the time of choosing are still valid when the aircraft/weapon enters deployment.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
China has shown zero interest in the JF17, so why would it want a stealthy JF17?
Stealth fighters costs vast sums to design and build. Even the US is struggling to fund two stealth fighters, and had to rob the F22 production fund to finance the F35, and suffering from massive remorse now. China is not about to emulate that epic fail.
The J20 is a pure-bred, zero-compromise air dominance fighter. There is nothing multirole about it other than in the minds of western 'experts' who are still in shock and denial to some extent over its very existence.
It is still highly questionable if the J31 will get fully funded and fielded with the PLAAF. Although the PLANAF has made noises about wanting to navalise the J20 and use that as their long term carrier fighter, there is a chance they will be 'convinced' to take the J31 instead. I still think that is the best, and maybe the only shot the J31 has at becoming operational.
It could be that CAC is working on a medium weight stealth offering to compete against the J31 for a naval and/or medium weight stealth fighter contract, but that seems unlikely.
The entire need for the J31 is largely artificially created to keep SAC from crashing out of the fighter business and prevent CAC from turning into China's LockMart and monopolising the Chinese fighter industry.
In that case, it wouldn't make any sense for CAC to waste time and money trying to compete for a contract they are simply never going to get.
If CAC is designing a medium or light weight stealth, it will not be for the Chinese internal market, and could, ironically indeed be a stealthy JF17 in that it is designed and built using largely off-the-shelf components and tech developed during the J20 programme to keep costs and development time to a minimal, and is aimed exclusively for the export market.
If CAC could make a viable 5th gen export fighter in the next 5-8 years that costs about as much as current western 4th gens, they may well be onto something.
A stealth aircraft has a generational advantage over previous generation aircraft, when the majority of stockpiles are 3rd/4th generation. A F-15, Rafale, or Su-35 is still vulnerable to a stealth JF-17 with reliable missiles. Imagine that, a top-of-the-line high fighter being shot down by an el-cheapo at 50 million. The export market for this must also be immense; the huge stealth gap means that anyone who buys a J-XXX has a categorical advantage over anyone without stealth aircraft. In a mass fight, as well, J-XXXs are adequate meatshields that can absorb or decoy missile fire from enemy 5th gens while the J-20s and J-31s do the lion's share of the fighting.
The problem a few here in this discussion - IMO already a bit off-topic by the way ! - is, that a small stealth fighter would simply lack range and or payload; most likely both so in the end its operational use is severely limited.
Just think about how much fuel a fighter of such limited weight could only carry ... and even less, what about its armament ? IMO it would only be useful as a pin-point interceptor or air defence fighter but nothing more.
I think it might be likely that CAC will try to develop such a fighter for the export market probably to steal SAC the show or it could act as some sort of VSTOL type ...
Just my 2 cents.
Deino
Just think about how much fuel a fighter of such limited weight could only carry ... and even less, what about its armament ? IMO it would only be useful as a pin-point interceptor or air defence fighter but nothing more.
I think it might be likely that CAC will try to develop such a fighter for the export market probably to steal SAC the show or it could act as some sort of VSTOL type ...
Just my 2 cents.
Deino
I thought I addressed that question already. The PLA may want to go for a 5th gen JF-17 because a 5th gen J-10/Mig-29 is not an economic option. Rather than creating something like the F-35, shrink it down and make it single role. Also, I disagree about the J-20. It's almost certainly designed with multi-role capabilities in mind. It would be stupid not to design it like that given the painful attempts by the U.S. in trying to add on proper ground strike capabilities to the F-22 later on. No compromise on air-superiority doesn't mean no attention paid to multi-role.