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| US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II (Image: Wiki Commons) |
China is planning to continue developing its short-range vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter, according to Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik International, cited by the military news web portal of China's state-run Reference News.
Given the cost of the project, there is seemingly an important strategic decision behind it, according to the report.
Vasily Kashin, a researcher with the Moscow-based non-governmental research organization the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said that the aircraft will be mainly used for maritime combat.
Theoretically the fighter could be used in areas without airports, including difficult and mountainous terrain, according to the report. The Soviet Union tried to use vehicle-towed platforms to allow its VTOL Yakovlev Yak-38 strike fighter to operate in Afghanistan in the 1980s. However, in mountainous regions the aircraft's lift jets were ineffective, so such a large aircraft found vertical take-off difficult, according to the website.
The US Marine Corps frequently used the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II ground attack aircraft in Afghanistan. However, these aircraft used conventional air bases, not making use of their VTOL functions. In theory, whenever a runway is destroyed by enemy forces, the VTOL function comes into play. However, the AV-8B is rather limited in capability compared to other fighters.
Read the full story at Want China Times