Could China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Become Their Very Own 'F-14 Tomcat'?
"As part of future Chinese carrier air wings, the J-20 most likely would perform beyond-visual-range air-superiority missions, firing heavy air-to-air missiles at distant targets much like the U.S. Navy’s now-retired F-14 fighter would have done."
by
David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL
The Chinese military reportedly has decided to develop the air force’s J-20 stealth fighter into a sea-based variant to fly from the navy’s growing fleet of aircraft carriers.
The Central Military Commission, the People’s Liberation Army’s top decision-making body, favors the J-20 over the smaller FC-31 stealth fighter design,
according to the Hong Kong
South China Morning Post.
The Central Military Commission, the People’s Liberation Army’s top decision-making body, favors the J-20 over the smaller FC-31 stealth fighter design,
according to the Hong Kong
South China Morning Post.
“Operating from a carrier would certainly enable the J-20 to better perform what many analysts envision to be its two primary missions, long-range strike and long-range air superiority,” Robert Farley
wrote at The Diplomat.
“Using the PL-15 [beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile], a carrier battle group with J-20s could push U.S. tanker and early warning aircraft deep into the Pacific, as well as threaten installations such as Guam,” Farley added. “Of course, any [Chinese navy] carrier leaving the friendly confines of the first island chain [beyond Japan and The Philippines] would become extraordinarily vulnerable to attacks from U.S. submarines and aircraft.”
According to Farley, Chinese planners also worry about the cost of developing a second stealth fighter in addition to the J-20. “An economic downturn will starve the service of resources,” Farley pointed out.
A carrier-based J-20 partially would replace the J-15, China’s first carrier fighter.
The J-15 is a clone of Russia's Su-33 naval fighter. Outwardly, the fighter has a lot in common with U.S., French and British carrier planes. "The J-15 has folding wings, strengthened landing gear, a tailhook under a shortened tail stinger, two-piece slotted flaps, canards and a retractable inflight-refueling probe on the left side of the nose," the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency explained in a
January 2019 report.
The non-stealthy J-15 weighs 17 tons while empty and can launch via the ramp on the bow of China’s first two carriers, which lack catapults. But the ramp-launch method limits the J-15 to around 30 tons maximum weight, translating into a modest weapons load. The J-15 reportedly also is unreliable and accident-prone.
The J-20 weighs 21 tons without fuel and weapons and up to 40 tons with them.
“The J-20 would be big for a carrier-based fighter, but certainly not the largest that has ever flown,” Farley wrote. “The Grumman F-14 had a slightly higher take-off weight, although it was a bit shorter. The A-5 Vigilante, which operated from U.S. carriers in the 1960s, was slightly longer but somewhat lighter.”
The Chinese stealth fighter likely will require a catapult for launch from a carrier. The U.S. Navy's own carriers use steam catapults to launch aircraft weighing as much as 50 tons. The Chinese navy could commission its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier in 2022, according to the May 2019 edition of the U.S. Defense Department’s
annual report on Chinese military developments.
“China began construction of its second domestically built aircraft carrier in 2018, which will likely be larger and fitted with a catapult launch system,” the DIA noted. “This design will enable it to support additional fighter aircraft, fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, and more rapid flight operations. China’s second domestically built carrier is projected to be operational by 2022.”
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...ghter-become-their-very-own-f-14-tomcat-86831
