News Story: China on a quest to develop VTOL aircraft technology - Sina Military

Russian Yak-141 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

China is working hard to develop a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for strategic and economic purposes, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.

Citing the Kanwa Defense Review, a Canada-based Chinese-language military magazine, the report said China is believed to have been developing VTOL technology for more than a decade already but appears to be another 15-20 years away from a finished product.

Kanwa added that China has not openly sought technological assistance from Russia in this field or advocated jointly developing VTOL technology to speed up the process. While the potential for collaboration in the future remains open — such as Russia providing China with the technology of its Yak-141 supersonic VTOL fighter jet — cooperation between the two countries is unlikely because China has never sought to develop a major arms project with another country and Russia appears unwilling to transfer the technology to China, Kanwa added.

Read the full story at Want China Times