Should china go for more J-8 or concerate on new desings like FC-1??

even if it does or not, lets say itz actually 15mil, FC-1 > J-8 in flexibility and the systems it has, the J-8 needs upgrade and China is wasting money on that and even the PLAN said they need a plane like this, and last time i checked, the J-10 doesnt have a naval variant, and itz not like the PLAN is truely accepting the J-8.

Chairman Hu said:

even if it does or not, lets say itz actually 15mil, FC-1 > J-8 in flexibility and the systems it has, the J-8 needs upgrade and China is wasting money on that and even the PLAN said they need a plane like this, and last time i checked, the J-10 doesnt have a naval variant, and itz not like the PLAN is truely accepting the J-8.

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this is the third time youve changed your icon!!!

im having a hard time understanding you thoughts...the j-8 was designed to be an interceptor, while the fc-1 is a cheap, export plane. almost all the upgrade the j-8 has could be done in a equal or better manner to the newer fc-1. i dont think china intends to continue building j-8s. might as well upgrde the existing 240 planes. as for fc-1...an aircraft should never be used in a role it was not designed for. otherwise, you get the su-27 effect, where an attept to use a $$$ million su-27 in ground attack will fail and result in the loss of the plane.

why does china need fc-1 is the question. although it is advanced and capable, china needs to spend more money on making smaller numbers of more advanced aircraft like j-10, j-11, and j-12.

why? because they signed a deal with the Paks to buy 150 FC-1s.

vincelee said:

why? because they signed a deal with the Paks to buy 150 FC-1s.

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are u replying to me? so what does pakistans aquisiting of fc-1s have to do wit china's need for them?

if china also buys the FC-1, it lowers the price for both of them. FC-1 have a way bigger upgrade potential than J-8. FC-1 is a cheap alternative for china to replace J-7s, it's not a replacement or alternative to the J-10. since J-10 is a medium, and FC-1 is light. although J-10 doesn't have a naval variant right now, but it's already in the development stages. J-8 was never really liked by the navy or air force very much, so i'm sure both forces would probably gladly trade in their J-8s for FC-1s.

PiSigma said:

if china also buys the FC-1, it lowers the price for both of them. FC-1 have a way bigger upgrade potential than J-8. FC-1 is a cheap alternative for china to replace J-7s, it's not a replacement or alternative to the J-10. since J-10 is a medium, and FC-1 is light. although J-10 doesn't have a naval variant right now, but it's already in the development stages. J-8 was never really liked by the navy or air force very much, so i'm sure both forces would probably gladly trade in their J-8s for FC-1s.

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but the point is, does china need a light fighter to replace the j-7? in a sense, the j-10 is the light fighter. the j-11 is the heavy. and what role would an fc-1 have in a af made up of j-xxs soon? chinas goal is to modernize, not to increase in size.

J-xx will need another 10 years or so to be fully functional and to start mass production. and to modernize might mean also to decrease in size, but for a country the size of china, it's impossible to have only a few hundred aircrafts in the Airforce. and china is not as rich as USA, which is the only country in the world that can afford to have all F-22 and JSFs in AF in the next 20 years or something. china still need to have a part of her AF with lower quality planes for border defence. countries like kazahstan (can't spell) or mongolia don't need J-10s/J-11/J-xx to guard, right now it's just a squadron of J-7s. so in a few years they could use FC-1s.

how much fc-1 will china is going to order

PiSigma said:

J-xx will need another 10 years or so to be fully functional and to start mass production. and to modernize might mean also to decrease in size, but for a country the size of china, it's impossible to have only a few hundred aircrafts in the Airforce. and china is not as rich as USA, which is the only country in the world that can afford to have all F-22 and JSFs in AF in the next 20 years or something. china still need to have a part of her AF with lower quality planes for border defence. countries like kazahstan (can't spell) or mongolia don't need J-10s/J-11/J-xx to guard, right now it's just a squadron of J-7s. so in a few years they could use FC-1s.

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i highly doubt that the USAF will have all JSF and F-22 in 20 years... remember they are already starting UCAV research, in fact boeing which lost the JSF to LM is leading in UCAV research.

how much fc-1 will china is going to order

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somewhere in the old forum there's an article about PLAAF going for ~200 FC-1, PLAN might get excited and go for some too....

ahho said:

how much fc-1 will china is going to order

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The only "firm" numbers that have been published is Pakistan's desire to obtain 150 FC-1 aircraft. There are no firm information on how many the PLAAF would take.

From PLAAF's point of view, they probably much rather have J-10's. But since Pakistan offered to eat half of the R&D costs on the FC-1, it's not a bad deal. Just think of it as China's version of ROCAF IDF.

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As for the "per copy" cost debate on FC-1 vs. J-8, the estimated costs will differ depending on number of aircraft produced and total R&D expense. To generalize, the more planes you build, the lower per unit cost.

The J-8 served its purpose until the introduction of newer aircraft. But it has been an export failure.