My Review and Build of Trumpeter's 1/72 scale KIT #1320,
PLAN J-11B Fighter
Chinese J-11B Fighter
For over twenty years the Chinese have been modernizing their Air Force and their Naval aircraft with much more modern aircraft. Some purchased from other nations, others developed indigenously. Initially they relied on Russia/the old Soviet Union, for a good deal of the initial part of this modernization having begun purchasing SU-27 aircraft from the Russians, and then the license to build kits in China.
They built around 60-70 SU-27, and then built close to 100 license built aircraft in China which they dubbed th J-11.
By that time the Chinese had completely figured out how to build these aircraft. The desired to do a couple of things to improve them for Chinese use.
1) They wnted the aircraft to interact with Chinee weapons and sensors.
To that point the aircraft wer set up and worked to operate with Russian weapons and sensors, which of course had to also be purchased from the Russians. y the early 2000s. in many respects, the Chinese sensors and weapons were reaching parity with the Russians, and in some cases exceeding them.
In addition, the Chinee wanted to:
2) Improve the design with innovations of their own using compisite materials, including Chinese engines.
The chinese wanted to increase the range, reduce the weight, so that they could carry more weapons and so that their manueverabilyt could be increase.
So, in 2002 a mock-up of a wholly Chinese design and built aircraft was shown to the public. This was after approxiimately 100 J-11 kits had been built from the SU-27 kits the Rusisans had supplied. In 2007, Chinese footage of a flying J-11B aircraft were released and it became official that the Chinese had and were building their own.
To date, something on the order of 110 J-11Bs have been built for the Chinese Air Force, and around 50 aircraft have been supplied to the Chinese Navy. These aircraft were designed with the following changes:
- Replaced the Russian-made NIIP N001 radar with a Chinese-made fire control radar based on the Type 147X/KLJ-X family
- Replaced the AL-31F engine with WS-10A
- Replaced Russian R-77 and other missiles with with Chinese-made PL-9 and PL-12 AAM's, and other Chinese ordinance including air to ground preceion ordinance
- Made the airframe lighter by using greater amounts of cadvanced composites
- Given the aircraft a new avionics system
- UPdated the aircraft with a glass cockpit
- Added MAWS
- Added an onboard oxygen generator system
- Upgraded the electronics so as to accept a new AESA radar
Since this time, the Chinese have continued to innovate. Recently an even newer version, the J-11D has been built and is being deployed. The J-11D includes even more compositie material and attempts to reduce radar cross section to radar, in addition it has a new fly-by-wire control system, new glass cockpit, improved EW systems, improved AESA radar, and an improved version of the WS-10A engine. Up to 50 or more of these aircraft may have already been deployed.
In addition, the Chinese took their own J-11B and an old Ukranian version of the Russian SU-33 carrier aircraft, and designed their own carrier borne aircraft, the J-15, which now flies off of the CV-16 Liaoning aircraft carrier the Chinese have built and will undoubteldy fly off the second carrier which is nearing launch in Dalian, and a 2rd which is said to have been started. Six prototypes were built and extensively tested on the carrier. To date, 18 production aircraft have been observed, but with three carrier air wings to fill, it is estimated that something on the order of 100 will eventually be built.
Finally, the Chinese have designed an aircraft called the J-16, which is a significntly altered aircraft resembling the SU-30MKKs (100 of which the Chinese also purchased from Russia) but which has been altered to use Chinese equipment and to act in a long range strike role similar to the Russian SU-35, or the US F-15E. THuis far, apparently the firsy 34 of these aircraft have been deployed.
Altogther, between the J-11 and J-11B, th Chinese have produced over 300 of those aircraft. It is unknown to date exactly how many J-11Ds have been built, but they continue to build and deploy them..
J-11B official specifaltions include:
Crew: 1 (2 in the J-11BS)
Length: 21.9 m (71 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 14.70 m (48 ft 3 in)
Height: 5.92 m (19 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 62.04 m² (667.8 ft²)
Empty weight: 16,380 kg[39] (36,115 lb)
Loaded weight: 23,926 kg (52,747 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 33,000 kg (73,000 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Lyulka AL-31F or Woshan WS-10A "Taihang" turbofans
Dry thrust: 75.22 kN / 89.17 kN (16,910 lbf / 20,050 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 123 kN / 132 kN (27,495 lbf / 29,700 lbf) each
Fuel capacity: 9,400 kg (20,724 lb) internally
Maximum speed: Mach 2.35 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at altitude
Range: 3,530 km (2,070 mi)
Service ceiling: 19,000 m (62,523 ft)
Rate of climb: 300 m/s[43] (60,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 371.0 kg/m² (76 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: Dry: 0.66
- With afterburner: 1.07
G-limit: 9 g
Armament:
- Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 cannon with 150r
- Hardpoints: 10:
- 2 under fuselage
- 2 under air ducts
- 4 under wings
- 2 on wingtips
With provisions to carry combinations of: Missiles:
- PL-12
- PL-9
- PL-8
- Vympel R-77
- Vympel R-27
- Vympel R-73
- Rockets: Unguided rocket launcher
- Bombs: Free-fall cluster bombs
Avionics:
- Fire-control radar: NIIP Tikhomirov N001VE Myech coherent pulse Doppler radar...has been equipped with AESA radar.
- OEPS-27 electro-optic system
- NSts-27 helmet-mounted sight (HMS)
- Gardeniya ECM pods
In recent service and history, Chinese J-11B aircaft have been used to intercept and shadow US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft over the East China Sea.
Chinese Naval J-11B as seen from a US Navy P-8A Poseidon Patrol aircraft
Introduction and What's in the Box - August 26, 2016
This Trumpeter kit comes in a beautifully illustrated box.
You can build the aircraft with the wheels down, or retracted into the fuselage.
Decal numbers and details are included for two different aircraft, including a prototype aircraft, or a Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) version. I intend to build a Chinese Navy (PLANAF) version, which are operated from land basses..
The aircraft does have some really nice surface detail and panel lines modeld into the plastic.
There are a lot of good details for the model and it comes with numerous PL-8, PL_9, and PL-12 misiles for armament.
The instructions are very well done and inutitive. Their are two glossy color pages showing the painting of the aircraft and the weapons. Decals are incuded for both aircraft depicted and the weapons.
All in all, a decent kit that should build into a very good model.
Here are the initial parts out of the box.
