China's V/STOL studies, concepts & considerations
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We have that already and it's the V-22 and MV-75
Practical but costly and not efficient. Military can live with something that is not efficient. With lift privided by the wings you can have better range and speed with a vtol like V-22 than an helicopter of the same size. Complexity take its toll.
No? Why would the PLAN be developing a V/STOVL fighter to embark on their LHDs for air superiority missions? If they're developing such a system, its to add further strike firepower not just to the 076 which can already launch strike drones, but also the 075s.
I don't see why a V/STOVL fighter being launched from LHDs would need to be doing air superiority missions primarily. Could it do it if operating alone and that's the goal? Probably. But I would imagine such missions would be done by carrier-borne aircraft from carriers supporting ARGs in amphibious missions, and that ability for that fighter(s) to do that mission alone would depend on how many is embarked, threat profile, etc.
China has 3 carriers, it is not enough to provide air superiority for the marines.
By the time this goes into service China will have atleast 5 carriers
China should churn out Type 003(A) instead of creating VSTOL which is fundamentally a compromised design in capability especially range, and payload. It currently occupies a very tiny niche that a CATOBAR carrier is an overkill and GJ-21 and future Sept 3rd drones are insufficient.
Crosspost from engine thread
Well, a chainsaw can definitely do cut more and faster, but sometimes you need a scalpel.
I think the performance of V/STOL aircraft and their roles in the field, as well as the cooperative roles that VSTOL support ships can play relative to their beefier cousins is a lot different than when these kinds of ships were first proposed. They are no longer purely a cost-saving measure IMO. I think of all of the different varieties of carrier ships as different kinds of tool boxes; you have a tool box with really deep and big housings for your bulkier tools, and also a toolbox with lots of little nooks and pullouts for more precision instruments. Really just depends what you want to put in each. I think that if the PLAN decides to go that route, it likely isn't because they want to save money, but because they see a particular role for those ships in rapidly evolving orders of battle.
I see that Type 076 with GJ-21 and Sept 3 UCAVS will very sufficient in the low-mid intensity conflict and can support STOBAR carrier operations as CCA in peer combat.
With the addition of STOVL plane, China will have to create another carrier class on top of the current rumors of parallel 003 and 004 production and 076. Because there is no point of having it on a CATOBAR carrier when you want that same space for J-35/J-15T, and 076 is assumed not to hold manned fixed wing fighters because of logistics and spacing.