Rumoured cancellation of J-31

[Levina]

Read about it just now so I thought I will put it here for discussion..,
****no trolling pls****

The J-31 is supposed to be a low Cost, low-end stealth fighter primarily designed for export like the JF-17. The PLAAF had initially agreed to buy limited numbers to support its development while the fighter found export customers to further fund the project. But since then, the PLAAF has criticized the aircraft saying it was never meant for domestic use.

The project has only one prototype (No. 31001), which had its maiden flight in 2012. Any fighter program dictates availability of multiple prototypes to test various parameters and design changes to expedite its development. But so far, Shenyang has not hinted on building additional prototypes for the project. This puts the future of the entire program in doubt.

The main problem is the lack of committed export customers and its failure to meet design parameters. When the fighter was unveiled publicly at the Zhu Hai Airshow in 2014, it was highly criticized for its aerodynamic inefficiencies during flight maneuvers. The aircraft bled a lot of energy and the pilot had a hard time keeping the nose up during turns and other maneuvers. The afterburners also had to be engaged often to maintain a proper energy utilization curve. Flights were done when the jet was "clean," so results would be worse when fitted with a combat load-out. The jet is also said to be considerable overweight. The lack of a good engine also affected its chances, with the WS-13 failing to meet the specifications.

The only country that expressed interest was Pakistan, but China believes that the limited numbers (30-40 aircrafts) will not compensate for the cost incurred while developing the jet. The required number would be atleast 150+ airframes. The PLAN never officially expressed their interest in the project. Unless PLAAF decides to back the project, the J-31 might be as good as dead.

 

[Deino]

Would You please be so Kind and add a source ??? ... otherwise it could be anything.

 

[Bilal.]

@cirr

 

[Yogijaat]

western propaganda

 

[Goenitz]

china follow policy of...
"build the muscle and pretend to be weak"

plus j31 is more of private plane
and j20 is of china govt...

 

[LonE_WolF]

source plz

 

[Levina]

Would You please be so Kind and add a source ??? ... otherwise it could be anything.

I read it on a page and I pasted the discussion here.
Requesting you to merge my thread with an appropriate thread in Chinese defence section so that this topic could be discussed.

Thanks!

 

[21 Dec 2012]

I read it on a page

Which page? Damn you slow

 

[Levina]

Which page? Damn you slow

World military stuff
That's the name.

 

[21 Dec 2012]

World military stuff
That's the name.

Do you understand that in your browser, there exists an address bar. Please copy it from there so we can all seeeee.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

The only country that expressed interest was Pakistan, but China believes that the limited numbers (30-40 aircrafts) will not compensate for the cost incurred while developing the jet. The required number would be atleast 150+ airframes. The PLAN never officially expressed their interest in the project. Unless PLAAF decides to back the project, the J-31 might be as good as dead.

The rationale behind cancellation, as presented, is sound, if the assumption is that Pakistan will remain the only customer committed to just those numbers.

Given that China does not have an operational/deployed stealth fighter jet, most countries who might be interested in procuring stealth fighter jets would probably wait till the released product before expressing any serious interest. The exception would be countries with deep enough ties to China to be informed/aware of the general progress and development of the J-31 (such as Pakistan). From a marketing/product offering perspective, halting J-31 development would mean that China would be limited to offering the J-10 or a stripped down version of the J-20 for export customers.

 

[Levina]

Do you understand that in your browser, there exists an address bar. Please copy it from there so we can all seeeee.

Arrey Why such belligerent attitude???
It's a closed group.
As I said the discussion on the fb page was regarding the rumor and I had posted this thread to know if it's true or not.
I hope @Deino can help me in merging this thread with an appropriate thread where this topic can be discussed.

 

[55100864]

The PLAAF had initially agreed to buy limited numbers to support its development
then the PLAAF has criticized the aircraft saying it was never meant for domestic use.

The PLAN never officially expressed their interest in the project. Unless PLAAF decides to back the project, the J-31 might be as good as dead.

The PLAAF pretty much never express anything publicly!

 

[OrionHunter]

The Chinese think that their J-31 is a competitor to the F-35 and therefore would have a ready export market. But that's far from the truth. It’s hardly a stretch to suggest Pakistan would be a major customer. Beyond that? The United States can offer the F-35 to a wide range of European and Asian countries, all of which have strong economies, big defense budgets, an appetite for high tech, and an interest in cementing the long-term technological and political relationship with the United States.

At this point, no one has a good sense of how much the J-31 might cost, or how the Chinese might try to package it. If the J-31 resembles the F-35 in anything but superficial terms, the system add-ons will matter as much as the airframe itself. The F-35, after all, sells itself as the center of a system of sensor and communications systems that facilitates air command. This system requires a variety of other components (drones, EW aircraft, satellites etc), and the system is enhanced by the capacity of F-35s to work together to create a more accurate vision of the battlespace. Meaning total situational awareness with the help of these add ons.


There’s no indication as of yet that the J-31 is supposed to have these kinds of emergent capabilities, and there’s little sense that China is capable of developing and exporting such systems along with the airframe.

So, in a nutshell, Pakistan buying the 30-40 J-31s isn't going to let Shenyang Aircraft Corporation break even. They need to manufacture at least 150 of them. But the PLAAF /PLAN isn't interested, preferring the Chengdu J-20 instead.

Therefore, it is logical that this project will be terminated as there are and will be no takers except Pakistan.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

This article is the biggest pile of sh1t that I've ever seen.