Tests of the carrier-based version of the FC-31 fighter have begun in China. Experts from the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine (MWM) have revealed some of the combat capabilities of the vehicle. Pravda.Ru has published a translation of the MWM material.
The fighter is being tested aboard the Liaoning aircraft carrier. It is one of only three Chinese aircraft carriers capable of carrying fixed-wing aircraft and one of the largest aircraft carriers in the world outside the United States, with a displacement of about 65,000 tons.
Liaoning Senior Midshipman Zhang Naigang talked about the landing of the FC-31 on September 11:
“A new fighter plane landed on an aircraft carrier as my watch was coming to an end. It’s very nice, especially when the weather is nice.”
In particular, the FC-31 was previously supposed to be used exclusively on the Fujian aircraft carrier, which uses an electromagnetic catapult launch system, and on future aircraft carriers with the same systems.
Both the Liaoning and China’s second carrier, the Shandong, require fighters to take off using only their own engines, using a ski-jump ramp, something the FC-31 was previously thought to be incapable of doing.
Previously, Liaoning and Shandong had used fourth-generation J-15 fighters as their sole fixed-wing combat aircraft. The fifth-generation FC-31, together with the advanced J-15B generation 4+ and specialized J-15D electronic warfare aircraft, is expected to form a much more powerful air force.
The FC-31 was developed in two known variants, including a carrier-based variant as well as a land-based variant intended for export. The fighter is the second fifth-generation fighter developed in China and is a follow-on to the much larger J-20 air superiority fighter, which entered service in 2017.
It is expected to benefit from a number of technologies found on the J-20, including cutting-edge stealth features and the use of monocrystalline turbine blade engines for increased durability and performance.
The latter is believed to be an important factor in ensuring the fighter’s impressive performance characteristics. In particular, the FC-31 is not expected to enter service with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which will continue to invest in the J-20. But the Navy prefers the FC-31 because its smaller size makes it easier to deploy on the decks of aircraft carriers.
