element1loop wrote:China’s navy ‘set to pick J-20 stealth jets for its next generation carriers’
Minnie Chan
Published: 11:00pm, 27 Aug, 2019
Updated: 11:49pm, 27 Aug, 2019
China’s military is likely to pick the country’s first active stealth fighter, the J-20, for its next generation aircraft carriers, according to military sources and a recent report on state media. The J-20, made by the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC), appears to have a won a head-to-head contest with the FC-31, a fighter made by another company which is still undergoing testing. A military insider told the South China Morning Post that the Central Military Commission, the People’s Liberation Army’s top decision-making body, now favoured adapting the J-20 for its new carriers.
Beyond China's J-20 Stealth Fighter
Is the carrier borne FC-31 in the works? And what about Chinese 6th Generation prospects?
By Rick Joe
September 20, 2019
QUOTE:
A Carrierborne FC-31?
Rumors of a carrierborne 5th generation fighter began to emerge not long after the first J-20 prototype made its first flight in early 2011. When the export oriented FC-31 airframe then emerged in October 2012, its smaller size and more conventional configuration and externally more sturdy appearing landing gear oriented speculation toward whether the FC-31 would be developed into a carrier borne fighter.
For a number of years, rumors suggested a carrierborne variants of both the J-20 from Chengdu and the FC-31 from Shenyang were engaged in a contest to be the PLAN's carrierborne 5th generation fighter. The two baseline aircraft occupied different weight categories, with the J-20 being heavier and larger of the two, and debates on open forums often considered the benefits and costs of one design over the other. In December 2016m an improved second prototype of the FC-31 flew with some major modifications to its canopy, wings and tails, however this second airframe did not feature any modifications suggestive of intended carrier compatibility.
In the last two years however, some rumors have suggested that the PLAN has finally settled on the FC-31 airframe as the basis for its 5th generation carrierborne fighter. The exact designation of this aircraft is not known, but it has been designated as "J-35" on Chinese language PLA boards, though the seriousness of the name is unknown.
Some recent articles have suggested the PLA seeks a J-20 variant for a carrierborne fighter variant, but to the best of the author's knowledge this is contrary to the consensus of the Chinese language military watching boards................https://thediplomat.com/2019/09/beyond- ... oMegZeyrbs