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| China's J-31 Stealth Fighter (Click to Enlarge) |
With a brief, 10-minute first flight Oct. 31 of its second advanced fifth-generation fighter jet, China is accelerating its airpower challenge. Meeting this challenge will require a greater investment in next-generation technology and better exploitation of current technology.
In its new twin-engine J-31 Falcon, the Shenyang Aircraft Co. has produced a medium-weight, and more importantly, simpler and less expensive complement to the Chengdu Aircraft Corp.’s J-20 heavy, low-observable fighter, revealed in late 2010. As such, it is possible that the J-31 may enter Chinese Air Force and Navy units faster and in greater numbers than the J-20.
In part, this will be due to their respective engines. The expected 15- to 16-ton-thrust WS-15 engine used by the J-20 has yet to be revealed, while in 2008, the China Gas Turbine Establishment revealed a 9.5-ton-thrust turbofan program appropriate for the J-31, an indication of greater confidence in this program.
When it enters service, the J-31 may have performance capabilities approaching that of the Lockheed Martin F-35A, which it resembles in size, low-observable shape, use of advanced digital systems such as active electronically scanned array radar and internal weapon carriage.
Also like the F-35, it appears to be optimized for multirole strike missions minus supercruise, but will carry a suite of comparable long-range anti-air and precision ground-attack munitions. Given Shenyang’s lead in developing China’s first carrier-based fighter, the J-15 Black Shark, Chinese sources report that a version of the J-31 will equip new Chinese aircraft carriers expected in the early 2020s.
Shenyang could easily market this fighter at a price less than that of the latest F-16, and perhaps competitive with newer Russian Sukhoi Su-30 models, raising the prospect of export breakthroughs in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and perhaps Europe.
Read the full story at China Military News