lcloo
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2010
- Messages
- 3,981
- Reaction score
- 14
- Country
- Location
I think it's better for J-15 to be main naval fighter of China until 2030's. The J-15 would be cheaper since it is not stealth.
By 2030, I think J-31 will be a good choice to replace the J-15. J-20 isn't really a good plane to replace J-15, since it is too big and heavy. Also, naval J-20 would need to carry less load, sacrificing it's weapon loadout and range.
If China was to make a V/STOL plane, like Harrier or F-35B, the J-31 would be a good candidate.
In my opinion, China needs 3 CATOBAR carriers and 5 small carriers for V/STOL planes. By 2030, China would need to replace J-15 with J-31.
J-20 is actually smaller than J-15, the perception that it is is large mainly due to the lower vertical height of the canted V tails which made visual illusion that it is a longer than actual length. If you replace the canted V tails with the vertical tails of Flankers, the dramatic visual effect can immediately be observed.