SinoSoldier
Colonel
Not asking for details of the rumor but instead about the credibility of Aerospace Knowledge. If they're officially affiliated with or backed by the PLA, the news might hold more substance than from other sources.
Shenyang FC-31 / J-31 Fighter Demonstrator
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Not asking for details of the rumor but instead about the credibility of Aerospace Knowledge. If they're officially affiliated with or backed by the PLA, the news might hold more substance than from other sources.
FC-31 is still the FC-31 at the AVIC stand at Paris. To my eyes, the exhaust look larger than what I've seen previously, and the cockpit is somewhat smaller. If memory serves, they don't often have external payloads on display with these air show models.
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@Deino
The message of this drawing is that the J-31 program is moving forward steady and well.
When J-31 was exposed deliberately or spotted accidentally first time in June, 2012 around the Chinese holiday of the Drag-boat Festival (端午节), it was on its way to transport on highway from Shenyang, Liao-ning province to Xi'an, Shaan-xi province for static test. Because its shape was like a "zongzhi" (粽子) , the typical food Chinese eat to celebrate the Drag-boat Festival holiday, and because it was wrapped tightly with tarpaulin in a way like people tie a "zongzhi" (粽子) , the first guy who leaked the news used the word "zongzhi" (粽子) to describe the jet transported, in an attempt to help him / her get away from the leak. Because the pronunciation of "zongzhi" (粽子) in Chinese sounds very close to the pronunciation of "中四", short for "中型四代机", medium fourth generation jet-fighter in English, as opposed to "重型四代机" or "重四", heavy forth generation jet-fighter in English, which is J-20, J-31 thus got its nickname "粽子(机)".
Because the artist put a "zongzhi" (粽子) in the middle of the Chinese word "安", which means safe, healthy and well in English, so the message of the drawing is simple and clear: The J-31 / "粽子(机)" program goes well and is on schedule. We should be able to hear new development about J-31 very soon.
This artist, or a group of artists, should be someone who has access to Xi'an Flight Test Center. J-10B's TVC engine info was first leaked in the same way, which proved true in last year's Zhuhai Air Show. And some new developments about J-20's engine program were also leaked in this way before. Unfortunately, these J-20 drawings haven't been well understood.
"zongzhi" (粽子), the typical food Chinese eat to celebrate the Drag-boat Festival (端午节).
J-31 was transported on highway in June, 2012. It was called "zongzhi" (粽子) by the guy who posted the photo on the Internet first.
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To admit, I'm rather disappointed.
It is the same very much ill-shaped or in fact misshaped model we know from other airshows, now mated with not the latest but dated weapons ... IMO the really need to learn a lot on PR issues.
Thanks ... but I must admit I would love to see a new "zongzhi" soon.
I think is going to be a new "zong-zhi", a dedicated ship-borne forth gen fighter that can fight and beat the F-35s deployed in Western Pacific. Otherwise, it's meaningless for China to make it.
Heh!, Heh!, Heh!, I've found your post very informative and sincere, I would add however, that the Chinese are limited by the laws of aerodynamics like everyone else. To propose that Shenyang's first flying "5th generation" fighter would "beat" the F-35 which is genetically the "little sister" of the F-22 is rather more wishful thinking than reality.
To insist that it would be "meaningless" to build it unless it was "superior" to the F-35 is short sighted, you've got to crawl before you can stand on your two feet and "toddle", then as you "toddle" along, you become better and stronger and eventually you "walk", and after walking a while, you get better at that, and then you can "run".
So you must learn to crawl first, lol, really, that's the way real life works!
Life in China was very different in 2012 than it is today....
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