Shenyang J-11

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The Shenyang J-11 is an advanced 4th-generation fighter in the People's Liberation Army Air Force, derived from the Russian Sukhoi Su-27SK.

History

Abandoned J-11

In the 1970s, Shenyang Aircraft Factory proposed to design a light fighter powered by the British Rolls-Royce Spey 512 engine, but otherwise similar to the MiG-19 then in service. Known as the J-11, the project was abandoned due to difficulty in obtaining the engines.[1]

New J-11

The new J-11 is an updated version of the Sukhoi Su-27SK air superiority fighter. Sukhoi originally provided kits to Shenyang Aircraft Corporation upon an agreement in 1995, but over time there were to be increasing Chinese content in the aircraft, with up to 70% of all Su-27 ordered by the PLAAF to be Chinese-made. It has been reported that Sukhoi agreed to an upgrade program, allegedly in 2001, with improved radar and attack avionics.

However, in 2004, Russian media reported that Shenyang co-production of the basic J-11 was stopped after around 100 examples were built. The PLAAF later revealed a mock-up of an upgrade J-11C in late 2002. It was equipped with Chinese anti-ship and PL-12 air-to-air missiles presumably for the role of a maritime strike aircraft.

Deployment

Currently, the PLAAF has seven divisions equipped with J-11, listed below[2]

  • PLAAF 1st Air Division based in Anshan, Liaoning, equipped with the J-11
  • PLAAF 2nd Air Division based in Suxi, Guangdong, equipped with the Su-27SK, Su-27UBK, and J-11
  • PLAAF 6th Air Division based in Yinchuan, Ningxia, equipped with the J-11
  • PLAAF 7th Air Division based in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, equipped with the J-11
  • PLAAF 14th Air Division based in Zhangshu, Jiangxi, equipped with the J-11
  • PLAAF 19th Air Division based in Zhengzhou, Henan, equipped with the Su-27SK, Su-27UBK, and J-11
  • PLAAF 33rd Air Division based in Baishiyi, Chongqing, equipped with the Su-27UBK

Design

The aircraft is a licensed co-production of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27SK. For more information on the design of the aircraft, see the Sukhoi Su-27 article.

Modernization

China is currently considering the use of its domestic WS-10A engine to replace the Russian Saturn Lyulka AL-31FN. The new WS-10A, reported to be an impressive 13,200 kg thrust turbofan, could be in service in about 5 years. At the Zhuhai 2002 show a photo was released of a J-11 alleged to have been modified to test one WS-10A.[3] However, according to Russian media, in November 2006, China has intentions to upgrade the current Flanker fleet's engines and is planning to source the engines either from Saturn-Lyulka with their 117S engine, a development of the Lyulka AL-31F engine, which is planned to be the powerplant for Indian Su-30MKIs, or from Salyut, with their AL-31F-M1 engine, an improved variant of the AL-31F engine.[4]

Variants

In 2002, Russian media reported that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was looking into replacing Russian-made J-11/Su-27SK components with domestic, Chinese-made parts. Specifically, to replace the Russian-made NIIP N001 radar with a Chinese-made fire control radar based on the Type 147X/KLJ-X family, the AL-31F engine with WS-10A, and Russian R-77 AAM's with Chinese-made PL-12 AAM's. One J-11 was photographed with an AL-31F and a WS-10A engine installed for testing in 2002. However, it was not until 2007 when the Chinese government finally revealed information on the domestic J-11: the J-11 used to test WS-10 was designated as J-11WS, and it was when state television station CCTV-7 aired J-11B footages in mid-2007 when the existence of J-11 with domestic components was finally confirmed officially.

J-11

The Chinese-built, Chinese variant of the Su-27SK with 70% components made in China, with some improvements over the original Su-27SK in the following areas: radar, flight instrumentation and added air-to-surface attack capability.

  • Radar: the original N001 radar on Su-27SK purchased by China in the 1990s is replaced by its successor, N001V, which like N001, can also simultaneously track 10 targets. However, when engaging a target out of the 10 tracked, the original N001 radar would lose all of the rest 9 targets tracked, and must restart a new tracking process after the engagement. N001V radar on J-11 overcomes this shortcoming so that during the engagement, the rest 9 targets tracked would not be lost. The major internal structural difference between the two radars is that the original TS100 processor in the older N001 radar is replaced by a more capable TS101M processor in the newer N001V radar.
  • Flight instrumentation: in comparison to Su-27SK with only one small CRT multifunction display (MFD), J-11 has a total of two by adding an additional one directly atop of the original small CRT MFD at the top right corner of the flight instrumentation dashboard. This new small CRT MFD is about the same size as the original one on Su-27SK, and it is located to the right of HUD.
  • Additional air-to-surface attack capability: The additional MFD is mainly used to control the electro-optically guided precision munitions such as TV guided or ImIR guided missiles in attacking ground and sea targets, since the domestic Chinese electro-optical pods and electro-optical guided precision munitions are extremely difficult to be directly integrated into the Su-27SK. The images and information for the electrical-optically guided munitions, as well as those provided by the domestic Chinese electro-optical pods can not be displayed on the original CRT MFD of Su-27SK, and they can only be displayed on the additional CRT MFD added. Despite this added air-to-surface attack capability, it must be noted, however, J-11 still lacks the full air-to-surface attack capability of later models because due to the limitation of the radar, the radar guided air-to-surface missiles can not be deployed.

J-11A

J-11 with further radar and flight instrumentation upgrade, most notably with the adoption of EFIS in its avionics.

  • Radar: The N001V radar on J-11 is replaced by its successor, N001VE, which has the same tracking capability like its predecessor. The radar improvement is that in comparison to the older N001V radar which is only capable of single target engagement, N001VE is capable of simultaneously engaging two of the ten targets tracked with semi-active radar homing air-to-air missiles. The major internal structural difference between the two radars is that the original TS101M processor in the older N001V radar is replaced by a more capable BCVM-486-6 processor of the Baguet series processor in the newer N001VE radar.
  • HMS: A more capable domestic Chinese helmet mounted sights (HMS) first begun to appear on J-11A, which soon had became standard all version of J-11, including retrofitting earlier J-11.
  • EFIS: Most of the analogue dial indicators of the original Su-27SK are eliminated, replaced by four color MFDs, which are part of the overall EFIS system designed by China Aviation Industry Corporation I. There are three large MFDs that take most of the space of the flight instrumentation dashboard, with the MFD in the center is in a slightly lower position than the other two on the sides. A slightly smaller color MFD is located below the three MFDs, to the bottom right corner of the flight instrumentation dashboard. Since all of the official photos of the EFIS by China Aviation Industry Corporation I on J-11A released by the Chinese governmental authorities so far are full frontal views, it is difficult to confirm if these color MFDs are either CRT, or LCD as claimed by many domestic Chinese sources.

J-11B

This is the indigenous, Chinese-designed, multirole version which uses more Chinese components, including radar, engine, and missiles. China is interested in reducing its reliance on foreign technology for both cost reasons and a desire to improve its domestic research and design. It is reported that one regiment of J-11Bs are currently in service, but this seems to contradict with the latest information provided by the Chinese government: In May, 2007, the existence of J-11B was finally acknowledged by the Chinese government for the first time when the state-run Chinese TV stations first aired the report on J-11B in PLAAF service, which were subsequently publicized in various domestic Chinese media such as state-run websites and newspapers (like Xin Wen Hua Bao, New Culture Newspaper). However, the official Chinese report claims that there are only two squadrons of J-11Bs in service, instead of a regiment, which is consisted of three squadrons. According to the Chinese report, which is agreed by some western sources such as Jane's Information Group, the J-11B is superior to Su-27SK in the following areas:

  • The wide adoption of composite material (mainly carbon fiber) for the surfaces, reducing the weight of the aircraft for more than 700 kg, while the life of the composite part is increased over 10,000 hours in comparison to the original part built from steel.
  • Redesigned air inlets of engine intakes to reduce the radar cross section, this coupled with the adoption of composite material, and application of radar absorbent material has reduced the radar cross section (RCS) of 25 square meters of Su-27SK to just 5 square meters of J-11B, the same RCS as MiG-21.
  • Full air-to-surface / sea capability is added and J-11B is able to launch various precision guided air-to-surface and air-to-sea munitions.
  • Certified to be equipped with WS-10 (will be upgraded to WS-10A in the future) turbofan engine, which is claimed to be cheaper to operate than AL-31F.
  • Improved radar. The new radar is able to track 6-8 targets at the same time, and engage 4 of the 6-8 tracked simultaneously. When used against large surface target such as a destroyer, the maximum range of the radar was in excess of 350 km. The range against aerial targets was not disclosed, but it would be definitely much shorter, as in all radars. The Chinese official report claims that the radar is better than the 147x/KLJ-X radar family, but stop short of identifying the exact type. Contrary to many erroneous comments by many domestic Chinese sources, which mistakenly claimed that the radar had adopted a passive phased array antenna, the official claims of many Chinese governmental sources such as technical journals and publications have revealed that the radar still adopted a slotted plannar array antenna.
  • Fully digitized solid-state avionics has replaced the analogue one in Su-27SK. In the mid-2007, the Chinese governmental television station CCTV-7 released news clips of Chinese pilots in the cockpits of J-11B, with the LCD of glass cockpit of J-11B clearly visible, despite that the official report itself only claimed replacing the original avionics with domestic Chinese fully digitized solid-state avionics, and nothing of EFIS or glass cockpit was mentioned. In comparison to the earlier EFIS on J-11A, the most obvious difference is that LCD MFDs on J-11B are aligned in a straight line, instead of the middle one being slightly lower. The arrangement, appearance and layout of MFDs and EFIS of J-11B are similar to the general design concept of the west.

Though it has long been rumored that J-11B is aerial-refueling capable, it was impossible to determine if any aerial refueling probes have been added to the aircraft from the released official reports by the Chinese government. Professor Wang also revealed in the same interview that the J-11B entering series production would be equipped with domestic engines.

J-11BS

Tandem twin seater version of J-11B under development, reportedly as the Chinese version of Su-30MK2/3. It is rumored that the letter S stands for Shuangzuo, meaning twin seater in Chinese. The existence of J-11BS is officially acknowledged by the Chinese government in 2007, and a large model of J-11BS was revealed public on June 9, 2007 during the opening ceremony of the new aerospace museum of the Harbin Institute of Technology at the 20-year anniversary of the establishment of its school of astronautics, where it is displayed. Some sources outside China have claimed that the successful development of J-11BS is one of reasons that China lacks the enthusiasm on purchasing Su-30MK3, but the Chinese government appears to be rather cautious, with official reports only claiming that the project is very promising, instead of declaring it is successful already.

Su-27SK Upgrade

Both the SUV-VEP air-to-air subsystem and the SUV-P air-to-surface subsystems of the Sukhoi Su-30MKK fire control system were adopted to upgrade the single seat Su-27SK in Chinese inventory, and a joint team of Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design (NIIP) and State Instrumentation Plant at Ryazan was named as the primary contractor to provide the Chinese with the upgraded avionics package. The modified SUV-VEP subsystem adopted to upgrade Chinese Su-27SK was designated as SUV-VE, while the modified SUV-P subsystem adopted to upgrade Chinese Su-27SK was designated as SUV-PE. The original analog dial indicator on flight dashboard of Su-27SK were replaced by two 6 in x 6 in MFI-10-6M and a MFIP-6 LCD MFDs. According to Russian claim at the 6th Zhuhai Airshow, over 60 Chinese Su-27SK have been upgraded by the end of 2006.

The radar was also upgraded, but such upgrade is not part of the deal signed with Russian contractors. Instead, the radar upgrade was indigenously carried out by Chinese themselves in increments, but no official information on the exact type of radar has been released by the Chinese authorities yet (as of 2008), and thus the rumored passive phased array radar being utilized in such upgrades cannot be confirmed. With the radar improvement, the upgraded Su-27SK with the upgrade is claimed to have its overall combat efficiency significantly improved, approaching that of J-11B. It is not clear if China has continued such upgrade after 2006 since no more information was released.

J-11C (or J-11BJ)

A yet-to-be-built aircraft carrier version, speculated on due to the success of the Russian Navy Su-33. The first mock-up of J-11C was displayed in public at airshows and defense exhibitions in China in late 2002, and the mock-up is shown to be able to be armed with all currently available Chinese anti-ship missiles, as well as air-to-air missile including PL-12. Based on this public display and the Chinese order of Su-33, many predicted that J-11C might be used as a shipborne maritime strike role similar to that of land based Su-30MKK/MK2, while others argued the primary role would still be fleet air defense, but neither can be confirmed because no detailed official information has been released by neither the Chinese government nor the developer.

Controversy

Russia has recently threatened to sue China over the latter's plans to market the J-11 to third world countries. Sukhoi originally provided kits to Shenyang Aircraft Corporation upon an agreement in 1995, but over time there were to be increasing Chinese content in the aircraft, with up to 70% of all Su-27 ordered by the PLAAF to be Chinese-made. It has been reported that Sukhoi agreed to an upgrade program, allegedly in 2001, with improved radar and attack avionics.The original contract signed between the Russian and the Chinese government does not allow for the export of the fighter to other countries.

Operators

 China

Specifications (J-11)

Data from Sinodefence.com[5]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1

Performance

Armament

Avionics

  • Fire-control radar: NIIP Tikhomirov N001E Myech coherent pulse Doppler radar
  • OEPS-27 electro-optic system
  • NSts-27 helmet-mounted sight (HMS)
  • Gardeniya ECM pods

References

  1. ^ Collins, Jack. "Chinese Fighter Development". China-defence.com. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  2. ^ "Chinese 'Flanker' Fighter Deployment". Sinodefence.com. 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Richard D. Fisher, Jr. (2003-10-07). "New developments in Russia-China Military Relations". United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Su-27 Modernisation Programme". Sinodefence.com. 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Su-27 Specifications". Sinodefence.com. 2006-11-04. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Originally measured as 7,600 kgf.
  7. ^ Originally measured as 12,500 kgf.
  • Golan, John (2006). "China's Hidden Power: The First Half Century of PLAAF Fighter Aviation". Combat Aircraft. 7: 57.

External links

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

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