topwar article about the j-31. It talks about problems with the j-31 program and that the j-31 is not much superior to the mig-29k.
To the people who know about j-31, what do you think of it? does he makes valid points or not?
Well, I guess this is the David Axe of Russian military news. There had to be one. He's talking bunk.
For one there isn't a J-31. It is called FC-31. It is a prototype demonstrator aircraft, not an actual aircraft.
It is not even an aircraft like the YF-22. Think of the FC-31 more like an aircraft in the US X-series.
It is a test vehicle to demonstrate technologies for rapid prototyping including paperless design and virtual mockups not an actual aircraft.
As any rapid prototype it uses off the shelf components as much as possible so its performance is not an indicator for future aircraft.
We know China has to date a prototype 4th generation (Western/Russian 5th generation) engine for this aircraft.
There are even photographs of this WS-19 engine. Russia has no engine in this weight class with equivalent thrust-to-weight and neither have I heard of any program to make such an engine. All of Russia's jet aircraft engine efforts have been put into the AL-41 and NK-32 families of engines. There might be a new engine for the PAK-FA under development too, probably 6th generation, probably derived from AL-41. But no new engine for aircraft in MiG-29 class which is lighter.
Next we have the radar. Russia still hasn't made available an AESA radar even in latest MiG-29K or MiG-35 variants.
China on the other hand has a prototype and will be shipping an AESA radar for the JF-17 Block 3 aircraft. It would be trivial for them to enlarge this radar with more modules for the much larger FC-31. Also, Pakistan could have easily went for an Italian radar and yet they selected the Chinese one. This means the performance this radar has is real for Pakistan has a lot of border frictions with India. They wouldn't select something which just didn't work. This isn't the Blue Circle radar.
So you have the radar. You have the engines. You have weapons. The FC-31 is testing an airframe design. All you needed was requirements and funding from a client to make the aircraft. This Shenyang has got a couple years back. The client is the PLANAF. The aircraft as designed will allegedly be larger than the original FC-31 prototypes. This is possible because of more lightweight airframe with composite materials and new higher thrust engine.
A MiG-29K would be terribly outdated compared with this aircraft and more in line with Hornet aircraft.
4+ generation aircraft. Not 5th generation like this.
