Analysis: China eyes new Russian tech

duotiga83 SG

Analysis: China eyes new Russian tech

HONG KONG, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A Chinese military source based in Beijing has said the People's Liberation Army Air Force is negotiating with the Russian Sukhoi Aircraft Company on three new projects.

Military observers based in Moscow and Beijing say they believe the recent nadir of military cooperation between China and Russia is only temporary. China will have to rely on Russia to develop its military technologies, as Beijing has no other alternative.

The first new project involves Su-33 shipborne fighters. Experts from the Russian aviation industry are convinced that China is about to start the construction of an aircraft carrier.

"Up to the present, on the issue of the Su-33, China and Sukhoi have had three rounds of negotiations and have reached some agreement," said the source.

Nonetheless, he did not disclose what specific progress has been made in the negotiations, merely confirming that additional rounds of talks will be held. A high-level source from Sukhoi confirmed his company is most interested in discovering whether the Chinese want to purchase whole Su-33 fighters or only require Su-33 parts, and whether they will request the transfer of production technology or design blueprints.

Other sources from the Chinese military industry said that several plans were involved in the negotiations on the Su-33. One of them is that China will buy a small number of Su-33, say 10 to 24, and later request that production technologies be transferred. However, the Chinese strategy is to use some of the Su-33 technology to develop their own shipborne fighter based on the J-11B assembled domestically.

The second project under negotiation involves the newest Su-35 fighter. At the MAKS 2007 International Aviation and Space Salon held at the Zhukovsky Air Base near Moscow in August, Chinese delegates took photos and videos of the Su-35 virtually every day.

"Several Chinese delegations have visited Sukhoi and raised technical questions," the Sukhoi company representative said. He said the two sides have reached a consensus and are now working on export plans.

"At least in the foreseeable future, China's indigenous aviation technologies will not be able to produce combat aircraft similar to the Su-35," he said. "Our attitude on this issue is the same as the case of the Su-33; that is, we are only interested in exporting whole Su-35s. This is not what the Chinese delegates hoped for. They hoped to import only certain subsystems, for instance the radar systems or the engines."

The third project concerns the PLA Navy's plan to import more Su-30MK2 fighters, or upgraded variants of the aircraft. No progress has been made on this as yet, however. A plan for China to import Su-30MK3 fighters, which was negotiated earlier, has not been carried out so far.

The possibility that the navy will continue importing Su-30MK2s or Su-30MK3s appears slim, mainly because it has already started to receive China-made JH-7A fighters. Meanwhile, the upgrade of the J-11B fighter aircraft has been very comprehensive. The fighter is now capable of launching precision attacks on battleships, and can basically meet the combat requirements of the navy fleet. China may not resume the import of Su-30MK2s unless the cost of the J-11B remains too high or comes close to the cost of the Su-30MK2.

Is there any possibility that the PLA Air Force may upgrade its existing Su-30MK2s and J-11s, or the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKIs, to a combat platform close to the Su-35 standard?

Yury Bely, a general designer at Russia's NIIP Radar Design Bureau, agreed to discuss the question. "It is impossible to import the Su-35's radar system only," he said. Bely stressed that it would be more feasible to import brand new Su-35s than to try upgrading the Su-30MK2.

The Su-35 is equipped with the H035 passive phased array radar system, which has extremely powerful detection capability, Bely pointed out. The average output power of this radar is 5 kW, with peak output at 20 kW; thus the output power of the Su-30MKI and Su-30MK2 would be insufficient. When the H035 radar was tested on Su-30MK No. 503, the detection range was as far as 290 kilometers with 1 kW power output, he said.

http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Industry/Analysis/2007/11/23/analysis_china_eyes_new_russian_tech/5662/

zenden9 SG

Rumour,rumour again...

But this time round ,Russian at least did offer something more advance than the Su-27SM and Su-30Mk2.

tankee1981 SG

I am curious on why they didn't focus on making a naval version of their local J-10 which is considered to be quite successful compared to past experiences. Very Happy

coolant SG

the Author--Pinkov nowadays doesnt have any clue on Chinese military thats why Janes already abandoned him as Asia Pacific correspondent for good, now he mainly relies on his Kanwa magazine and selling stories to non military but more politically driven UPI.

This article appears in Janes Defense Weekly May 9th, 2007 issue:

Details emerge of Chinese J-11B heavy air superiority fighter

Johnathon Weng JDW Correspondent
Beijing

Details have emerged of China's next-generation J-11B heavy air superiority fighter aircraft: a further development of Sukhoi's Su-27SK (Chinese designation J-11) that ended production in 2004 ahead of its planned run.

Shenyang Aviation Corporation assembled 95 J-11 fighters from imported Russian components, although the original project had called for 200 aircraft, and it is likely production was stopped in anticipation of the improved J-11B.

Although based on the Su-27SK, the latest incarnation has substantial improvements including a reduced radar cross-section (RCS), a strengthened airframe and an improved fire-control radar, as well as a new flight-control system, glass cockpit and engine.

The improvements are planned to take the aircraft to a fourth-generation platform. It is known that the Yanliang Flight Test Center currently has three J-11Bs under testing (No 521, No 523 and No 524), but there may be others.

The most significant change for the aircraft is the reduced RCS; sources claim that this brings the RCS from the 15 m2 of the Su-27 to less than 5 m2 and possibly as low as 3 m2, but it is unlikely that the minimal changes proposed could achieve this.

The change is not to the dynamic shape of the aircraft but involves modification of the air-intake lip with a radar wave shield and installation of radar-absorbing materials on the intake interior. In addition, the RCS will be reduced with Chinese-made signature-reduction paint.

The strengthening of the airframe - a key aspect since the life expectancy of the aircraft has been criticised by the People's Liberation Army Air Force - has been achieved through wind-tunnel tests of the weapons carriage.

Additionally, the empty weight of the aircraft has been reduced by about 700 kg through the use of composite materials.

It is believed a further 10,000 hours have been added to the life of the aircraft compared with the Su-27SK.

The radar installed on the J-11B is believed to be more powerful than the Type 1473 installed on the J-10; it is estimated to be able to track 20 targets and simultaneously lock onto six.

The J-11B will incorporate a four-times redundant digital fly-by-wire flight-control system with mechanical backup. Additionally, the aircraft has a fully glass c-ockpit with two variants: a reflecting head-up display (HUD) with four multifunction displays (MFDs) and a holographic HUD with three MFDs.

It is likely the former c-ockpit will be used for ground attack and the latter for air combat. The new c-ockpits integrate fire-control radar, electro-optic countermeasure pods and infrared search and track.

The improved radar and cockpit have allowed for the integration of newer weapons such as the CATIC PL-12 active radar-guided air-to-air missile. The J-11 AL-31F engine will be replaced with the WS10A turbofan, providing longer lifespan and reduced fuel consumption.

I would question why Pinkov insists on PLA continuing to buy Russian Junks like Su30MK2 while their indigenized J11B is much more improved and applying more advanced technologies than the Su30Mks, for example, better powerplant, better radar( slotter array of J11B vs Su30MK2s Cassegrain antenna), fully glass c-ockpit with holographic display, a feature even the latest Su35 also doesnt have. One thing is fore sure, China doesnt order any new fighter from Russia for a long time, it looks more likely Russians have to provide their latest stuff like Su35 which is still in the prototype stage in order to secure the PLA order.

coolant SG

J-10 is single engine powered, non foldable delta wing, lighter weight, leas powerful radar because of smaller radome. Air intake is beneath the fuselage. And airframe is not optimized for ship taking off and landing. Furthermore, dont forget shipborne fighters have to be multirole, thats always faver a bigger platform which can carry more fuel, payload, ECM equipments etc. All these factors may limit the shipborne ability of J10