As we all know, the world’s only fifth-generation ship-borne aircraft are F-35C and F-35B. The F-35C was originally planned to replace F/A-18E/F. The F-35B with vertical take-off and landing capability is mainly used for amphibious purposes. Assault ship. China plans to develop a fifth-generation aircraft based on the FC-31, and public information indicates that the aircraft will first fly in 2021. As the "35001" serial number appeared on the Navy's recruitment advertisement, it is speculated that the official serial number is J-35. The relationship between the J-35 and the Falcon is equivalent to the J-15 and J-11. It is a brand-new fighter. The key combat performance will be improved, but there will be no fundamental changes.
The aviation industry evaluated the J-35 as "too advanced and not suitable for display." The target must be the F-35C, and it is very difficult to surpass it. Some analysts believe that if the development progress of the J-35's target engine turbofan-19 is not as expected, its combat strength will never exceed the F-35C, even if the turbofan-19 is installed, it is difficult to say that it can crush the F-35. Surprisingly, the U.S. Navy will not completely replace F/A-18E/F with F-35C, but will develop a sixth-generation aircraft, whose key combat performance can only be described as “against the sky”, which means The J-35 faces the embarrassing situation of falling behind when it debuts. According to a report on the US Military Research Institute website on the 19th, the US military secretly launched the first carrier-based fighter project in 20 years, and is in early discussions with the industrial sector. The project aims to develop a manned fighter jet that will replace the "Super Hornet" and EA-18G "Growler" electronic warplanes in F/A-18E/F from 2030, which means that the US military will be the most advanced ship in the future. The carrier aircraft is no longer F-35C, but a 6th generation aircraft. Z1z
US Naval Aviation Systems Command senior researcher Clark said that the US Navy wants to learn from the advanced technology of the F-35C on this manned carrier aircraft, while incorporating more advanced technology. This is not an improved or derivative model of an existing fighter, but will be the world's first sixth-generation fighter. It will combine the advantages of F-35C and F/A-18 and achieve a revolutionary breakthrough in combat radius. Clark emphasized: "The U.S. Navy does not have enough budget to develop a 6 fighter with comprehensive performance, so it needs to highlight the most critical performance improvement: build a new fighter with a combat radius of 1852 kilometers."
According to reports, the U.S. Navy" The "Next Generation Air Superiority" project office has been established, known as PMA-230. The U.S. Navy has announced the project plan at a bidding meeting, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Noplos Grumman will participate in the bidding. According to preliminary estimates by the US military, it would cost US$67 billion to replace F/A-18E/F fighters from 2032 to 2050, and US$4 billion would be needed to replace the Growler electronic fighter.
Because the budget is not too much, the US Navy's sixth-generation aircraft may make concessions in some performance. According to Clark, the U.S. Navy's sixth-generation aircraft is a manned fighter, but it will be equipped with unmanned aerial vehicle systems to complement the mission, and will use artificial intelligence technology to enhance air combat capabilities. In order to reduce development costs and technical risks, the aircraft may make concessions in terms of weapon load and stealth performance, but will give priority to ensuring flight speed and combat range, while reducing the advancement of the fighter's C4ISR system. UAVs will take on more combat missions and will allow U.S. aircraft carriers to have more flexible combat performance.
Overall, the US Navy's sixth-generation aircraft is more like an interceptor with a very large range. The stealth performance is not particularly good, and the ammunition is not large. It will be equipped with a large number of drones to complete combat missions. Attack the opponent from a distance of 1800 kilometers. If the United States really successfully develops such a carrier-based aircraft, even if its combat performance is not particularly good, relying only on long range and stealth can give the US aircraft carrier asymmetric advantage. If this is not a strategic flicker, it means the J-35 It was wrong from the beginning. There were originally two options for domestic development of carrier-based aircraft: One is to develop the J-20H on the basis of the J-20. The advantage of the heavy stealth fighter is that it has a range of more than 1,500 kilometers and its ammunition capacity far exceeds that of the J-35. As the J-20 is more mature, it takes less development time. The disadvantage is that the body is too long, resulting in a significant drop in the number of carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier; the second is to develop a medium-sized stealth carrier-based aircraft on the basis of the F-31. The advantage is that the aircraft deployed on the aircraft carrierThe number of aircraft will be more, the disadvantage is that its combat radius is only about 1,000 kilometers, the ammunition capacity is also less than the J-20, and the development progress will be much slower. If the future carrier aircraft of the United States is still F-35C and F-18, the J-35 can indeed meet the needs, but if the Americans develop a fighter with a combat radius of more than 1,800 kilometers, it will be troublesome. The design concept is behind.
China has two ways to solve this problem: one is to continue to develop the J-20H, it is not difficult to develop a model with a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers; the other is to develop unmanned combat aircraft. The combat radius of unmanned bombers and fighters can even reach 3,000 kilometers, and they can operate under the command of manned fighters. No matter which method is adopted, it means that the choice of J-35 has gone the wrong way, and everyone is welcome to discuss it in the comment area.
