U.S. F-22s versus Chinese F-35s

A new Chinese fighter with stealth and supercruise is in development and may soon make its first flight with predictions of operational fielding by 2017-19, says PLA Air Force deputy chief, Gen. He Weirong.

The new Chinese fighter aircraft could come from Avic Defense’s Chengdu facility, which developed China’s latest J-10 fighter, or from Shenyang. He says the PLAAF will emphasize development of  reconnaissance/early warning; strike; strategic airlift, and air and missile defense. The J-10 began large-scale service in 2006.

While replicating the F-22 seems unlikely, aerospace officials with insight into the stealth fighter programs contend that building an F-35-like aircraft (with larger signature and less aerodynamic performance than the F-22) could be a threat to the U.S. if they are built in large numbers.

“Even 4th generation fighters, when pitted in large numbers against 187 F-22s, will eventually wear [the stealth fighters] down,” an aerospace industry official says. “They only carry eight air-to-air missiles. They don’t have to match Raptor capabilities if they build an advanced fighter in F-35 numbers.”

But many remain unconvinced about China’s timelines for an advanced design.

“But we’ve yet to see a real organic design [emerge] from China. So far they’ve leveraged Russian or Israeli technology. They don’t have a lot of radar engineering capability, nor experience in integrating a complete structure.”

Those are two big obstacles.

“You can paste on some [signature-lowering] capabilities but changing a very large target to a large target doesn’t buy you too much operational advantage,” the Air Force official says. “You need very small stealth signature numbers.”

The F-22 met a -40dBsm all-aspect requirement while the F-35 came in at -30dBsm with some gaps in coverage.

“You need a combination of the right shape, structural design, surface coatings, aerodynamic performance and flight control system designs,” the Air Force official says. “It’s not magic, but there’s still a lot of art in it.”

The idea that the J-10 will serve as a technological springboard is considered unlikely.

“I believe the Chinese have a difficult road if their design is tied to the J-10,” he says. “As you know, significantly reduced signature requires more then coatings.  The J-10 has many features which may produce the desired aerodynamic effects but would be a negative for signature reduction. I am sure they can somewhat reduce the signature with a few design tweaks and coatings but the operational relevance would be questionable.

“They can certainly refine their composite structure competency – Boeing’s been helping them with that through the commercial airliner programs – and basic [stealth] coatings are widely known and available,” the Air Force official says. “The milestone will be when we see more refined shaping.”

Tags: ar99, China, stealth, F-22, F-35