peagle
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2019
- Messages
- 2,334
- Reaction score
- 14
- Country
- Location
China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), has reportedly invested heavily in developing radar cross section reducing technologies applicable to fourth generation fighter airframes. Shenyang has been responsible for developing a number of prolific combat aircraft designs including the J-8 interceptor and the J-11, J-15 and J-16 heavyweight fighters - with a medium weight fifth generation fighter currently under development under the FC-31 program. With China having been the first country in the world other than the United States to develop and field next generation stealth fighters, many of the technologies developed for these aircraft are being used to modernise fourth generation jets to '4++ generation' standards. These aircraft are generally as capable as fifth generation designs aside from their lack of a radar cross section reducing stealth airframe, but this capability gap can be partially bridged by limited applications of stealth technologies to originally non-stealthy fourth generation airframes.
FC-31 Fifth Generation Fighter Prototype
Fourth generation aircraft with stealth features notably have several advantages over fifth generation designs. Such aircraft are generally lighter, consume less fuel, have higher availability rates and are much easier and cheaper to maintain, meaning even the largest military powers are likely to rely heavily on pre-fifth generation airframe designs for decades to come. Fourth generation fighters are also not restricted by the need to carry armaments and fuel internally, meaning they can deploy external fuel tanks and several times as many missiles as their fifth generation counterparts. Investments in providing such aircraft with limited stealth capabilities, therefore, are likely to be highly beneficial to China's warfighting capabilities. Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Chinese periodical on the country’s defence industries and technologies, reported that Shenyang had made considerable progress in testing advanced stealth features designed for the next generation warplanes far ahead of those fielded by current stealth jets such as the J-20 and its American analogue the F-22 Raptor. This report was closely followed by the flight of a J-11 fighter apparently used for testing new stealth features, making use of an advanced stealth coating to reduce its visibility to radar despite its lack of a purpose built stealth profile. The development of these technologies has significant implications for the capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in future - with stealth technologies also of considerable use for bombers, destroyers, drones and other weapons platforms.
J-10C ‘4++ Generation’ Light Fighter
China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force has already begun to integrate stealth technologies onto older fighter designs, and a year after the entry into service of its first dedicated stealth aircraft, the Chengdu J-20, the J-10C next generation single engine light fighter was declared fully active. While the fighter did not make use of a fifth generation-type stealth profile, it did use a radar cross section reducing airframe and advanced stealth coatings which, combined with its small size, made it considerably more difficult to detect than a regular fourth generation combat jet. While the exact radar cross section of the J-10C remains unknown, it is speculated to be smaller than the frontal radar cross section of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle design. Stealth coatings and similar radar cross section reducing measures are expected to be applied to the J-11D and J-15B heavyweight fighters and have already been used to enhance the J-15 and J-16 - all of which are based of the same Flanker airframe design. With Russia having already considerably reduced the radar cross section of its Flanker airframes on its latest iteration of the design, the Su-35, it is likely that China has studied means used by Russia to do so after obtaining the Su-35. Combined with advanced radar absorbent coatings the Russian jets lack, this should make Chinese Flankers considerably more stealthy still.
While the PLA Air Force has long sought to apply radar cross section reducing technologies to older fighter designs, including advanced variants of the pre Vietnam War era J-7 fighter and H-6 bomber which remained in production into the 2010s, recent developments in radar cross section reducing technologies are set to revolutionise its ability to do so with more modern combat jets. The fact that China is the only country in the world other than the United States to have put a stealth fighter design into mass production, which is an important indicator of the sophistication of its military aviation industry, technologies developed for the coatings of these next generation aircraft can also be used to upgrade the airframes of non stealthy fighter designs. Application of these technologies has considerable implications for the viability of designs such as the J-15B and J-10C, as they can retain the low maintenance requirements and high weapons payload of a pre-fifth generation fighter while also improving their survivability with a conservative application of stealth technologies.
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/a...ial-technologies-first-deployed-in-early-2018
FC-31 Fifth Generation Fighter Prototype
Fourth generation aircraft with stealth features notably have several advantages over fifth generation designs. Such aircraft are generally lighter, consume less fuel, have higher availability rates and are much easier and cheaper to maintain, meaning even the largest military powers are likely to rely heavily on pre-fifth generation airframe designs for decades to come. Fourth generation fighters are also not restricted by the need to carry armaments and fuel internally, meaning they can deploy external fuel tanks and several times as many missiles as their fifth generation counterparts. Investments in providing such aircraft with limited stealth capabilities, therefore, are likely to be highly beneficial to China's warfighting capabilities. Ordnance Industry Science Technology, a Chinese periodical on the country’s defence industries and technologies, reported that Shenyang had made considerable progress in testing advanced stealth features designed for the next generation warplanes far ahead of those fielded by current stealth jets such as the J-20 and its American analogue the F-22 Raptor. This report was closely followed by the flight of a J-11 fighter apparently used for testing new stealth features, making use of an advanced stealth coating to reduce its visibility to radar despite its lack of a purpose built stealth profile. The development of these technologies has significant implications for the capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in future - with stealth technologies also of considerable use for bombers, destroyers, drones and other weapons platforms.
J-10C ‘4++ Generation’ Light Fighter
China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force has already begun to integrate stealth technologies onto older fighter designs, and a year after the entry into service of its first dedicated stealth aircraft, the Chengdu J-20, the J-10C next generation single engine light fighter was declared fully active. While the fighter did not make use of a fifth generation-type stealth profile, it did use a radar cross section reducing airframe and advanced stealth coatings which, combined with its small size, made it considerably more difficult to detect than a regular fourth generation combat jet. While the exact radar cross section of the J-10C remains unknown, it is speculated to be smaller than the frontal radar cross section of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle design. Stealth coatings and similar radar cross section reducing measures are expected to be applied to the J-11D and J-15B heavyweight fighters and have already been used to enhance the J-15 and J-16 - all of which are based of the same Flanker airframe design. With Russia having already considerably reduced the radar cross section of its Flanker airframes on its latest iteration of the design, the Su-35, it is likely that China has studied means used by Russia to do so after obtaining the Su-35. Combined with advanced radar absorbent coatings the Russian jets lack, this should make Chinese Flankers considerably more stealthy still.
While the PLA Air Force has long sought to apply radar cross section reducing technologies to older fighter designs, including advanced variants of the pre Vietnam War era J-7 fighter and H-6 bomber which remained in production into the 2010s, recent developments in radar cross section reducing technologies are set to revolutionise its ability to do so with more modern combat jets. The fact that China is the only country in the world other than the United States to have put a stealth fighter design into mass production, which is an important indicator of the sophistication of its military aviation industry, technologies developed for the coatings of these next generation aircraft can also be used to upgrade the airframes of non stealthy fighter designs. Application of these technologies has considerable implications for the viability of designs such as the J-15B and J-10C, as they can retain the low maintenance requirements and high weapons payload of a pre-fifth generation fighter while also improving their survivability with a conservative application of stealth technologies.
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/a...ial-technologies-first-deployed-in-early-2018
