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The reason Su-35 was acquired was mostly to gain access to the AL-41. China is still having many difficulties regarding their jet engine industry and hope experience with the AL-41 will help to overcome this.
AND as I have said before, the J-11/J-15/J-16 are NOT EVER going to be exported. If they were, PAF would have acquired them by now. The ONLY sources for 4.5+ Gen Strike Fighters will be Su-35 from Russia OR a modified JH-7B, plus a very small outside shot at Typhoon. That is it, and these too seem unlikely
The reason Su-35 was acquired was mostly to gain access to the AL-41. China is still having many difficulties regarding their jet engine industry and hope experience with the AL-41 will help to overcome this.
AND as I have said before, the J-11/J-15/J-16 are NOT EVER going to be exported. If they were, PAF would have acquired them by now. The ONLY sources for 4.5+ Gen Strike Fighters will be Su-35 from Russia OR a modified JH-7B, plus a very small outside shot at Typhoon. That is it, and these too seem unlikely
1) There is a lot more newer tech in SU-35 that the Chinese wanted to try and learn to copy it. Engines were really secondary.
2) J-11B has already been offered to Pakistan. Pakistan is still studying it. I think there are two scenarios here. 1: Pakistan has strong trust in JFT block III being very close to F-16 block 52 (in capability, sensors, range and payload), in which case it makes sense to keep that program running that you own yourself. 2: They want the J-11D (more maturity onto J-11B platform). The radars are still a little behind in multi-target mode, like track 24, engage 6. I think you can only engage 2 simultaneously and Pakistan wants 4-6 at the least.
3) I personally think, Pakistan also wants to deal with Russia directly to build direct relationships and they may be silently hoping that the J-11 won't come on par with their requirements and they'll just get the SU-35, kind of making everyone happy I guess. But they have to cozy up to the Russians to a degree where these jets will be released.
So it'll be fun to watch what happens. One more jet may be purchased. The issue is, which one?
1) There is a lot more newer tech in SU-35 that the Chinese wanted to try and learn to copy it. Engines were really secondary.
2) J-11B has already been offered to Pakistan. Pakistan is still studying it. I think there are two scenarios here. 1: Pakistan has strong trust in JFT block III being very close to F-16 block 52 (in capability, sensors, range and payload), in which case it makes sense to keep that program running that you own yourself. 2: They want the J-11D (more maturity onto J-11B platform). The radars are still a little behind in multi-target mode, like track 24, engage 6. I think you can only engage 2 simultaneously and Pakistan wants 4-6 at the least.
3) I personally think, Pakistan also wants to deal with Russia directly to build direct relationships and they may be silently hoping that the J-11 won't come on par with their requirements and they'll just get the SU-35, kind of making everyone happy I guess. But they have to cozy up to the Russians to a degree where these jets will be released.
So it'll be fun to watch what happens. One more jet may be purchased. The issue is, which one?
The reason Su-35 was acquired was mostly to gain access to the AL-41. China is still having many difficulties regarding their jet engine industry and hope experience with the AL-41 will help to overcome this.
AND as I have said before, the J-11/J-15/J-16 are NOT EVER going to be exported. If they were, PAF would have acquired them by now. The ONLY sources for 4.5+ Gen Strike Fighters will be Su-35 from Russia OR a modified JH-7B, plus a very small outside shot at Typhoon. That is it, and these too seem unlikely
You left out the J-10C, which the Chinese can (and is pushing to) export
I should have been more clear, i meant heavy strike fighter. The J-10 would not fit that mold unfortunately and it appears the PAF has already ruled against going for it. It has less range and payload than the F-16 and not significantly better than JF-17 to warrant adding it. It would be redundant in the PAF fleet. The JF-17 block 3 should begim to somewhat approach its capabilities in terms of systems (albeit not physical performance). The Flanker and JH-7B (modified with something like J-16 electronics) would be more along the lines of PAF needs (in addition to the FC-31
The J-10 does have less range and payload than the F-16 block 52. It is what it is. Not sure aerodynamically why but it does. As for it vs JF-17, I am not saying it isnt a better aircraft, but not so significantly that it warrants the added cost of a third fighter type with all the maintenance and logistics that go into that. They have significant areas where the two overlap in terms of capabilities with the J-10 usually edging out the JF-17 except that it costs 10-15 mill more per aircraft.
The J-10 does have less range and payload than the F-16 block 52. It is what it is. Not sure aerodynamically why but it does. As for it vs JF-17, I am not saying it isnt a better aircraft, but not so significantly that it warrants the added cost of a third fighter type with all the maintenance and logistics that go into that. They have significant areas where the two overlap in terms of capabilities with the J-10 usually edging out the JF-17 except that it costs 10-15 mill more per aircraft.