Has there been any recent information to suggest long standing rumors of a Chinese STOVL fighter broadly similar to F-35B have some substance behind them?
More credible rumor of a Chinese STOVL fighter?
- Thread starter Richard Santos
- Start date
- Status
I would not count on it. But the Chinese allegedly have cloned the D-30 engine recently for use with the H-6K.
That has over 100 kN similar to the Yak-141 engine. But you would still need an afterburner for it to be supersonic.
You would also either need to develop frontal lift engines for it or develop a lift fan system for it similar to the F-35Bs.
China has had past experience collaborating with the Yakovlev design bureau as can be seen by the JL-10.
So it is not beyond possibility they might have had access to the Yak-141 design and test data.
Another possibility if the program has existed for a long time would have been a Harrier clone.
There is a Harrier GR.3 at the Beijing Air and Space Museum.
That has over 100 kN similar to the Yak-141 engine. But you would still need an afterburner for it to be supersonic.
You would also either need to develop frontal lift engines for it or develop a lift fan system for it similar to the F-35Bs.
China has had past experience collaborating with the Yakovlev design bureau as can be seen by the JL-10.
So it is not beyond possibility they might have had access to the Yak-141 design and test data.
Another possibility if the program has existed for a long time would have been a Harrier clone.
There is a Harrier GR.3 at the Beijing Air and Space Museum.
Last edited:
To continue, it seems too much trouble for little gain to me. The major problems with a VTOL aircraft are engine related and that isn't a forte of the Chinese MiC right now. They would also be limited to the Type 001/002 carriers, which I doubt they will build more of, and perhaps the Type 075.
The long standing rumours never had any substance behind them, and there remain no substance behind them now.
With advent and maturity in UAS and UCAV designs, I really see VTOL as a interim design that has outlived its usefulness.
A manned VTOL has less range, payload and higher signature than a comparable stealth UCAV.
There is also very limited scenarios where a something like a USMC MEU would be the sole expeditionary force upon itself without a CVN and or USN support available.
The proliferation of UCAVs means that you will need a AWAC in your flotilla to provide some level of early warning against low observable airframes.
Face it, if they can incorporate EMAL into a LHA hull, then UCAVs will take up less space and have more loitering time. Anti-air can be handled IAD on DDGs, with better radar and better range. Heck, the Falkland conflict already shown the limitation of the Jumpjet concept.
I agree with @steel21 here.
I would just like to add that the F35B should be substantially more capable than the Harrier as used in the Falklands. Back then the Harrier did not even have a proper radar because of weight limitations. Only later was a decent radar added but it was still on the smaller side to conserve weight. The F-35B has a much larger radar and much more powerful engine. The engine has roughly twice the power output. This means it will be a lot more combat capable than a Harrier would be.
I still agree that drones would be a better match for the Type 075 force though. While Type 001 and 002 can handle a conventional aircraft with a similarly reduced but usable payload as long as the engines have enough power.
If anything what I said above just reinforces the concept that such an aircraft will be heavily dependent on the engine technology at the disposal of the nation which chooses to go with such an aircraft.
I would just like to add that the F35B should be substantially more capable than the Harrier as used in the Falklands. Back then the Harrier did not even have a proper radar because of weight limitations. Only later was a decent radar added but it was still on the smaller side to conserve weight. The F-35B has a much larger radar and much more powerful engine. The engine has roughly twice the power output. This means it will be a lot more combat capable than a Harrier would be.
I still agree that drones would be a better match for the Type 075 force though. While Type 001 and 002 can handle a conventional aircraft with a similarly reduced but usable payload as long as the engines have enough power.
If anything what I said above just reinforces the concept that such an aircraft will be heavily dependent on the engine technology at the disposal of the nation which chooses to go with such an aircraft.
To be honest, I don't think LPD with catapults is a reasonable concept. The prerequisite structures needed for catapults are big and expensive. So when you add one of them, you better add more until you saturate the ship. EMALS may change it. But until then, VTOL is the only practical way for providing fighter capability to LHDs
- Status