In early July 2022, not long after the Chinese Navy's third aircraft carrier "Fu Ship" held a grand launching and undocking ceremony, the Navy's second aircraft carrier and the first domestically produced aircraft carrier "Shandong" also completed its After 27 months of service, it returned to the factory for maintenance and upgrades for the first time. It left the shipyard and prepared to return to the battle order of the People's Navy with a new look.
Shandong ship undocking
This time the Shandong ship undocking, the biggest focus of the outside world is the two new carrier-based fighter models placed on its deck. Some self-media based on the shape of its wingtip electronic pod, judged it to be A full-scale model of the J-15D carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, but at the same time, the two models are obviously single-seat configurations, not the two-seat configuration used by the previously unveiled J-15D prototypes. The most incredible thing is that these two models do not have the front wing in the three-wing layout unique to the J-15. Instead, like the land-based model, they adopt a conventional configuration combining wings and horizontal tails. A series of contradictory settings on the model also made us very puzzled!
Two strange J-15 models, note that there is no front wing
Some people may say after seeing this, isn't it just a model? What does it matter if it is not made accurately? Nothing to worry about! In fact, this is not the case. Any carrier-based aircraft model that appears on a naval ship is not an ordinary model, but an engineering simulation model that plays a significant role in ship construction. The purpose of these models is to simulate the operation of carrier-based aircraft on the ship one-to-one during the ship construction stage, thereby verifying the rationality and effectiveness of the design related to the operation of carrier-based aircraft on the ship. Their appearance features must truly reflect the characteristics of the real aircraft. state.
The J-15 model when the Shandong ship was built, the front wing is clearly visible
Many times, the outside world uses the carrier-based aircraft model on the ship to understand the real situation of the carrier-based aircraft in advance. The most typical example is the first time the outside world sees it The real appearance characteristics of the Zhi-20F ship-based anti-submarine helicopter are obtained from the engineering model on the deck of the 055 guided missile destroyer under construction. Facts have also proved that the appearance of the real Z-20F is exactly the same as that of the model, and even the foldable external pylons are realistic. out. The Zhi-20F model on
055 has very good details.
Therefore, the special features of these two models are not just shoddy production, but have their own intentions. We quickly found a reasonable explanation for the J-15D wingtip pods being installed on a single-seat J-15 model. Because the main difference between the J-15D and the J-15 is the two-seater and wingtip pods. The wingtip pods will increase the wingspan a little, causing a slight change in the overall height after the wings are folded, which is a key feature. , must be reflected on the model to facilitate ship matching. The two-seater feature has almost no impact on the aircraft's transfer on the aircraft carrier. It is an unnecessary feature and therefore does not have to be reflected on the model. Therefore, the single-seat model manufactured in the early stage and the pod model can be used to completely simulate the operation of the two-seat J-15D ship surface. It is not necessary to manufacture both single-seat and double-seat models at the same time.
歼-15D
However, the front wings on both models have been cancelled, which is difficult to understand! The presence or absence of front wings has significantly changed the appearance of the J-15. The operation of the aircraft in multiple scenarios such as aircraft carrier elevators, hangars, and even deck parking will produce different results. For such an important feature, the model does not have it. Embodiment is obviously completely unreasonable. In the early construction process of the "Liaoning" ship and the "Shandong" ship, as well as the J-15 models used by the troops for ground support training, they all had front wings. Will the J-15 really have to cancel its iconic front wings in the future? Winged? Is it possible to achieve it?
The model used for troop training also has a front wing
We all know that the J-15 is designed based on the Russian Su-33, so let’s start with the front wing of the Su-33. In order to achieve the transition from land to sea, the Su-33 added this front wing and became a three-wing layout.The Su-33 is a carrier-based multi-purpose fighter. Compared with the Su-27, it has increased ground-to-sea combat capabilities. Therefore, its radar fire control system is heavier than the one-ton N001 radar of the Su-27. Coupled with the increased structural weight of the ship, the empty weight of the Su-27 has increased by nearly 2 tons. Taking into account the smaller flight deck and ski jump take-off method of the Russian aircraft carrier, the Su-33 needs to significantly increase the short take-off and landing. capabilities and improve low-speed performance.
Su-33 with front wingKUB
One of the ways for the Su-33 is to add a front wing to solve the difficulty of raising the head due to the increased weight of the radar . It is also equivalent to increasing the total wing area of the aircraft, thus increasing the Lift. The front wing can participate in the pitching operation of the aircraft during takeoff and landing, thereby improving the aircraft's control flexibility at low speeds, which is of great significance for shipboard takeoff and landing. The pair of front wings will be locked in a horizontal position after the landing gear is retracted, so they do not participate in the maneuvering flight of the aircraft. Therefore, the pair of front wings have no control effect in the air. This is different from other three-winged wings. The overall layout of aircraft such as Su-30SM and early Su-35 is different.
It is obvious that there is no front wing.
When China was developing the J-15, it copied the aerodynamic shape of the Su-33. It was the safest solution for China, a "layman" in carrier-based aircraft at that time. However, the radar of the J-15 is more advanced and lighter than the Su-33, and the fuselage is made of many composite materials. The overall weight of the aircraft is hundreds of kilograms lighter than the Su-33, which greatly reduces the role of the front wing. Therefore, whether The need to retain the front wing has been debated. In particular, in the future, China's catapult aircraft carrier will adopt the catapult take-off method, which no longer requires the aircraft to rely on its own short take-off capability to take off. At the same time, the expansion of the deck will make the landing runway longer, and the overall take-off and landing conditions will be more relaxed. It will continue to be retained It doesn't seem necessary.
The J-15 copies the appearance of the Su-33 as it is, so it also has a front wing
What benefits will it bring if the front wing is cancelled? First of all, the empty weight of the entire aircraft is further reduced. The front wing plus the control mechanism and the additional mounting base weigh several hundred kilograms. Moreover, this set of front wings is only used for take-off and landing, and has no effect during maneuvering flight." "Dead weight", if canceled, the aircraft's maneuverability will be correspondingly improved, and the aircraft's additional fuel capacity and weapons load space can also be increased.
The existing J-15 all have front wings
Secondly, if the J-15 cancels the front wings, the folded outline size of the aircraft will be reduced, and it can be parked in a cross-stacked manner. The author drew a comparison chart based on the 26-meter-wide hangar width of the Russian "Kuznetsov" aircraft carrier. It can be seen that due to the influence of the front wing, the J-15 currently occupies a hangar when parked at the minimum space limit. The space is at least 20% more than without a front wing, which is quite impressive data. Not only in the hangar, the situation is also the same when parking on the deck. The absence of front wings will save more space and also provide higher transfer and parking flexibility.
So will the J-15 really cancel the front wing in the future? Are these two models random, or do they have ulterior motives? When an engineering model of a carrier-based aircraft appears on the Type 003 "Fujian" ship being installed, perhaps the answer will be revealed!
