Shenyang is such a powerful organization, and is so much confident about its new 5th Gen Jet. But still is unable to Convince its own Airforce to go forward with the project. Whats the requirement of PLAAF and PLAN which J-31 can't fulfill !
I am interested to listen about that.
They don't need to worry but customers do ask these questions. Have you seen any Airforce in world who ignore a top class bird and go for other bird even if has abundant of Budget ?
If J-31 is that much capable PLAAF and PLAN should not have ignored it. Again I am interested to listen about the requirements of PLAAF and PLAN that J-31 won't fulfill.
That is not how the decision process is made.
Just because the YF22 beat the YF23, does it mean the YF23 is a bad plane? No, it is an excellent plane; it's just that the proposals that Lockheed made at the time the prototypes were made better suited the US Air Force's requirements and the political climate at the time.
Just because Lockheed+Boeing lost the LRS-B contract to Northrop Grumman, does it mean that Lockheed+Boeing's combined technical capacity is weaker than Northrop? By no means!
There was a competition between Shenyang and Chengdu to develop China's premier 5th Gen fighter, and just like any other fighter competition, factors such as cost/ability to deliver/political factors all heavily influence the outcome. Some say Chengdu's design was more innovative at the time or that the government wanted to create competition/a balance of power between the two(because Shenyang is definitely the more powerful player at the time). China has limited funds and needed to focus on one project to get the best for the money it has.
(This was in an interview with an Air Force general which I can't find the link to now) The J-31 is born because Shenyang had accumulated so much technical talent and financial power, they thought it'd be a waste if they didn't leverage their assets to develop a 5th Gen fighter. The chance of the PLA ordering something that they make from the proposal which lost is going to be quite low, but they believe a future market will exist for their plane in the form of exports; and who knows if successful the PLA may take a second look.
Thank about it, if they make another F22/J20 sized 5th Gen fighter, how many countries will have the funds to buy it? Very few will have the money or the requirements. The F22 production, if restarted, would cost the US themselves $300Mil+ each now, and if exported it may be close to $400M or even above. Now if you lower the cost and size of the aircraft to something resembling the F35 (the J31) - now many countries will be able to afford 5th Gen with a more limited budget (e.g. Pakistan).
I don't have time to write more now, but I hope this makes it clear to people why the J31 was developed in the first place.
