Last week, Russia revealed information that Su-57 fighter jets had participated in "special military operations" in Ukraine many times, which made the Su-57, which has not been put into mass production and was almost forgotten by people, really popular. . Although domestic and foreign media gave the Su-57 a lot of coverage in those days, people obviously still forgot what it was about.
That is Russia’s second stealth fighter—the Su-75 (Checkmate).
In the original idea of the Russians, Su-75 officially entered the construction stage after international users "take the bait" and paid for it, and even ambitiously gave the first flight in 2023 and mass production in 2027. plan. After Russia launches the "special military operation" against Ukraine, this plan may be ruined. Not to mention whether the Su-75 can catch fish, even with "start-up users", it is currently suffering from deep sanctions from the West. Next, the development progress of the Su-75 is difficult to guarantee.
The possibility of the Su-75 arriving as scheduled is close to zero
But today the Su-75 is not the focus of our discussion, but a question that domestic military enthusiasts have been "imagining" since the day the Su-75 appeared: Can Lao Maozi come up with a Su-75 in such a difficult situation? Can China also come up with a medium-sized single-engine stealth fighter?
Originally, this topic had faded away with the Su-75's silence, but after the J-10CE was successfully exported to Pakistan, and Pakistan secretly wanted to continue to purchase stealth fighters from China, the topic came up again. kept being brought up. After all, the JF-17/FC-1 and J-10CE in the hands of Pakistan are all products of southern units, and "important weapons of the country" such as and J-20 are obviously not allowed to be exported, so the southern unit should make a The "J-10 stealth version" is more logical, and with the foundation of the J-20, the "J-10 stealth version" is definitely more reliable than "quasi-stealth aircraft" like South Korea's KF-X.
The improved J-10 stealth model
drawn by netizens
Although before this, the FC-31 of the Northern Unit was also a standard export stealth fighter, but after it was reported that it had "evolved" into the J-35, I am afraid that the related units The main focus will be on its subsequent development and production. After all, the stealth carrier-based fighter is also the first of its kind for China's aviation industry, and there must be a lot of work to be done. There are even rumors that the Chinese Air Force has also taken a fancy to the FC-31. If it is true, then the relevant units will definitely not be tempted to build an "export model" at the same time. "One chicken can eat more" may not be a problem. But you have to take it one bite at a time, right?
Looking at the southern units, the J-20 has entered the mass production stage. According to foreign media reports, all five theaters of the People's Liberation Army have been equipped with the J-20. Although "improvement while equipping" is our old tradition, in the legendary Before the " turbofan-15" is ready for use, the improvement work of the J-20 will certainly not be complicated and difficult. Now that Russia's Su-75 can't catch up, the FC-31 has to be busy with other things. Countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran have all adopted a posture of "waiting for food". It can be said that we seize the market. "The right time, the right place and the right people".
However, is it really appropriate to plan this medium-sized single-engine stealth fighter as a "J-10 stealth version" or a "J-20 single-engine version"? For example, for the J-10, which has a huge single vertical tail and canard , the workload of changing it into a stealth fighter is probably no less than developing one independently. As for the single-engine version of the J-20, you will know just by looking at the Su-75. Although the Su-75 also adopts many effective designs from the Su-57, such as the main wing, full-motion vertical tail and canopy, it It is not a single-engine version of the Su-57. We can also look at the United States on the other side of the ocean. Even the F-15 has a "Silent Eagle", but we have never heard of building an "F-16 stealth version."
The improved version of the J-20 currently does not include the single-engine version
Although many netizens can write some "fantastic ideas", we should not forget the original intention of "export type". Exporting is to make money, or make money. If those who seek other benefits insist on "modifying" existing models, they are obviously used to living in poverty and have not changed their minds.
Therefore, based on the existing J-10 and J-20, it is not a simple matter to develop a single-engine medium-sized stealth fighter that can achieve a good balance in speed, bomb load, stealth, cost and other aspects. Easy thing. Against the background that the global stealth fighter market is growing, it is not an easy task for China to seize food from the tiger's mouth of the United States and take care of Russia's face.
The top priority is that we still want to work hard on basic skills and cultivate internal strength first. After the J-20 and J-35 have matured, we will then consider exporting stealth fighters. Of course, if during this process, a "big dog" really comes up with enough chips, we wouldn't mind allocating some energy and production capacity from the development of current models to meet customer needs.
Have you forgotten the story of Dongfeng-3 and Jinlun Engineering Company?
The cost-effectiveness of the J-10’s improved stealth model is not high. The picture shows the idea drawn by netizens
