Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) News & Discussions

[Beast]

Nothing to do with the value of lives and everything to do with the Total cost of Ownership which includes initial procurement costs, costs to operate and cost to maintain and replacement costs, given shorter service lives etc. Right now, and i suspect for quite some time, chinese engines will have much higher TCO costs than western engines and even Russian engines.

Jet engines are hard to make - ask the russians - they have been doing it longer than china but they are having issues with their engines(eg AL-31's )...

Chinese has been making gas turbine more than a decade and our destroyer equipped with them has no issue so far. We didn't replace destroyer like RN type 45 during any of our anti piracy trip or overseas deployment halfway. It proves it relaibility.

If u are asking why suddenly the topic changes to ship gas turbine is becos naval warship gas turbine derived from turbofan. And they are equally hard to make. Even the Russian hasn't really master the naval gas turbine. Big reason why Russian naval modernization is delayed. I highly doubt Chinese aero engine are behind Russian, in fact our benchmark set for our aero engine are much higher than Russian.

A very big reason why Chinese continue used large number of AL-31 engine and only until recently we switches to Chinese one is becos we signed a mega deal for supply of 1000 AL-31 engines in 2000s which Russian insist to lock on to their profit. They know Chinese going to use domestic aero engine soon but not willing to supply further unless Chinese committed this amount.

 

[MajesticPug]

Nothing to do with the value of lives and everything to do with the Total cost of Ownership which includes initial procurement costs, costs to operate and cost to maintain and replacement costs, given shorter service lives etc. Right now, and i suspect for quite some time, chinese engines will have much higher TCO costs than western engines and even Russian engines.

Jet engines are hard to make - ask the russians - they have been doing it longer than china but they are having issues with their engines(eg AL-31's )...

You are still having that antiquated and unfound belief of older Chinese engine models. It's like evaluating Chinese train technology using trains made by the Chinese in the 1990's. It's okay to do that to evaluate British or American train technologies using that timeline. But on the Chinese? LOL..

Again, China should tell Paks or anybody take it or leave it. They can go to Russians if they believe Russian transport planes meet their needs and that India will not block the sales. Unlike the US, China does not hold a noose on their friends and/or allies.

 

[lcloo]

Update from Huitong's Chinese Military Aviation:-
"The latest image (August 2021) suggested that the first Y-20U has entered the service with the PLAAF 13th Division, along with Il-78s, wearing a low-visibility color scheme. It was rumored that two (20241, 20242?) are currently in service."

No counting the numbers of H6U aerial tankers, China now has 3 IL-78 tankers and 2 Y20U tankers. The three IL-78 tankers are refurbished ex-Ukrainian airforce tankers and were bought for stop-gap purpose, so we can expect more Y20U will be entering PLAAF and PLAN Aviation fleets.

 

[khanasifm]

Why China’s Latest Jets Are Surpassing Russia’s Top Fighters

Since the consolidation of Communist party rule over mainland China in 1949, China’s military aviation sector has owed a tremendous debt to the Russian Bear. However, according to a new study, the apprentice may have surpassed the master as Chinese jets lead in radar, weapons and stealth technology.

www.forbes.com

 

[JSCh]

PLAAF released video to commemorate 72nd founding anniversary.

 

[ozranger]

I guess that it is not a coincidence that all references to H-20 have almost the same shape.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1458402017555013632

 

[JSCh]

PLAAF released video to commemorate 72nd founding anniversary.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1458427321321340935

 

[lcloo]

Whatever it is, I am happy to see it without the canvas, before 2021 is over.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Whatever it is, I am happy to see it withou the canvas, before 2021 is over.

View attachment 792441

Yes, I wanna see that too.
希望不是六爷Pro，字母不够用了

 

[Deino]

Again a must-read by @RickJoe_PLA on the latest Chinese fighter developments!

Reviewing China’s New Stealth Fighters

What we know about the twin seat J-20 and carrier-borne FC-31 fighter – and a mystery tailless airframe captured in satellite imagery.

thediplomat.com

 

[Deino]

Can anyone help me out with some information on Chinese datalink systems and esp. the latest ones, which are said to be comparable to "Link 16".

 

[SQ8]

Can anyone help me out with some information on Chinese datalink systems and esp. the latest ones, which are said to be comparable to "Link 16".

Ten years ago( shit it has been long) working with Chinese manufacturers for a sdr they were claiming compatibility with Link-16 then. The Pakistani link-17 is more advanced than 16 as it incorporates pieces of Link-22 in it so I would be surprised if any Chinese DLs aren’t as or more advanced today.

 

[Polestar 2]

Ten years ago( shit it has been long) working with Chinese manufacturers for a sdr they were claiming compatibility with Link-16 then. The Pakistani link-17 is more advanced than 16 as it incorporates pieces of Link-22 in it so I would be surprised if any Chinese DLs aren’t as or more advanced today.

Ten years ago? J-20 haven't even deploy. 055 destroyer is no where to be seen.

For China, 10 years are enough to reach the very best level. And I also don't expect China will show the best they have to Pakistan. Just like VT-4 but not Type 99 tank are allow to be exported. J-20 for PLAAF only.

 

[SQ8]

Ten years ago? J-20 haven't even deploy. 055 destroyer is no where to be seen.

For China, 10 years are enough to reach the very best level. And I also don't expect China will show the best they have to Pakistan. Just like VT-4 but not Type 99 tank are allow to be exported. J-20 for PLAAF only.

That was my point - but in many cases there is some feedback the Chinese firm(or institute) had a lot of quality issues we asked to address in their hardware and firmware which we helped them address.

 

[Polestar 2]

That was my point - but in many cases there is some feedback the Chinese firm(or institute) had a lot of quality issues we asked to address in their hardware and firmware which we helped them address.

Its not a problem exclusive of Chinese, so as US and western where they will refuse to address some of the issue regards to quality , firmware or usage as it will increase final price and margin. Do take into consideration, budget is a big consideration factor. Chinese products margin usually are very low as our product sale price are fraction of western products.

And buyer still keen on asking further cut on buy price. There is a limit of what they can give, End of the day, they need at least some profit to sustain further development and other operating cost.

Take for example JF-17 tender for Argentina AF, Chinese has offer an attractive package of USD50 million per piece with AESA and Argentina still further want to take advantage by asking for further cuts. Argentina shall look further of what price Rafale, Typhoon, Gripen are asking which is 3 - 4 times the price. But then again, are they 3-4 times better than JF-17 Blk 3 or capable of 1 taking on 3 of it?