Congrats China for having their hands on 4+ gen Su-35. What I dont understand, while J-20 beat older 3rd and 4th gen fighter and F-31 v2 just made flights. why China still imported this? Any inputs on it? Thanks
If you look at the PLAAF inventory, there about 250 Su-27SK/UBK, Su-30MKK, J-11A. These are still equipped with N001 variants. There doesn’t seem to be any upgrades planned for these. So that’s 250 flankers without upgrade! YIKES! Yes, the J-11B exists and it has some newer tech compared to the J-11A but overall I doubt the J-11B can simply walk over the J-11A. J-11B is essentially a fully indigenized variant of the J-11A. One advantage of the J-11B is that it is very upgrade friendly compared to the others. The next generation flanker of the PLAAF is going to be the J-11D. But the status of this is unclear. Now compare that to the other forces in the region. USN has F/A-18E/F, IAF Su-30MKI, RoKAF F-15K, JASDF will be upgrading their F-15J fleet as well and last but not least the USAF assets especially the F-22. PLAAF flankers are due for an upgrade.
Regarding the J-20, yes it is a 5th generation plane (4th gen according to Chinese classification) but the PLAAF has to develop a whole new mindset when it comes to using it. How to effectively use stealth? How to effectively use the integrated avionics? According one rumor the J-20 is capable of gathering and processing massive amount of data from all around (360′) whether it is the RADAR, EO, ESM, etc and it is going take the PLAAF years perhaps even a decade on how to use that effectively. They have to develop a brand new set of tactics for the J-20. There is no point throwing the J-20 into battle unless they know how make use of its abilities. I am curious, how long did it take the USAF to develop tactics for the F-22? The other thing is the J-20 is going to be the most expensive and complex fighter China has ever built. They won’t be able to build them like the J-10 let alone the J-7. The J-20 will no-way replace all the older PLAAF flankers anytime soon. And don’t forget, the J-20 still lacks the next generation engine. We don’t know how effective it is right now when it comes to supercruise and super-maneuverability.
So lets leave out the J-20 for the moment. The Su-35S has multiple advantages over the existing flankers in the PLAAF. Supercruise and super-maneuverability are the obvious ones. PLAAF at this point DOES NOT have a TVC equipped super-maneuverable fighter. PLAAF at this point DOES NOT have a fighter that can supercruise. Su-35S fits the bill. We will have to see how the J-11D turns out. If the PLAAF is not happy with it, then they’ll probably order a lot more Su-35SK. The key technologies in the Su-35S is supercruise and the TVC integration. Neither of which the PLAAF has possessed before.
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