WORLD DEFENCE: China

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China deployed J-11B jets in Tibet to counter India’s recent movement of Su-30MKI jets near China.

Ten years ago, the U.S. Navy set about building a new class of small, cheap, numerous Littoral Combat Ships meant to dominate dangerous coastal waters. But after a decade of politics and design-by-committee, the LCS has turned out to be anything but small, cheap and numerous. LCS is the “wrong ship at the wrong time,” retired Navy Cmdr. John Patch wrote.
On the other side of the Pacific, the Navy’s biggest maritime rival, faced with the same requirement for small, cheap, numerous ships, quickly produced exactly that. The result is the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s triple-hull Type 022 missile boat, a “thoroughbred ship-killer,” according to Patch.
To some observers, the PLAN missile boat — or, more to the point, packs of these boats — poses yet another major Chinese threat to U.S. power in the Pacific. Eighty-three Type 022s firing more than 640 anti-ship missiles in quick salvos represent a “serious cause for concern,” according to retired Navy Cmdr. George Root.
To others, the diminutive Type 022s look like mere juicy targets for American helicopters and submarines. They cite the extremely poor combat record of small-missiles boats doing battle with larger vessels and aircraft.
One thing is indisputable. The Type 022 is “a potential success story on how to field small combatants,” Patch wrote. Its merits in combat remain to be seen, but at least the ship exists to perform a combat role. The same cannot be said of the huge fleet of LCSs the U.S. Navy thought it would have by now.

Seven-Year Sprint

In just seven years, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy has built 83 of the 400-ton Type 022s at an estimated cost of $40 million per ship. And production continues at a high rate in several shipyards. The U.S. Navy, by comparison, has finished just two LCS in the same span of time, each at a cost of more than $600 million.
The Chinese ships sport eight anti-ship missiles apiece plus defensive guns and surface-to-air missiles. The American vessels, lightly armed in their own right, are designed to accommodate “plug-and-play” weapons kits, none of which are complete.
To some critics, even 83 Type 022s are so much fodder for submarines and air power. Small missile-armed boats have fared very poorly in major naval battles — so poorly that the late naval historian Antony Preston said they were “among the world’s worst warship designs since 1860,” according to Navy Undersecretary Bob Work.
Work, back when he was a mere analyst at the Washington, D.C., Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, summarized the experiences of Iranian and Iraqi “Fast Attack Craft” in combat with U.S. and allied forces in 1988 and 1991. “U.S./coalition forces: 40 FACs destroyed, 2 disabled; enemy: 0 U.S. or friendly forces hit, much less sunk.”
“This data suggests the weakness in focusing in on a simple fleet-on-fleet salvo model in modern naval combat,” Work wrote, “primarily because the preferred method of engaging enemy surface targets is now through asymmetric attacks (e.g., aircraft and submarine attacks against surface vessels).”
In other words, it doesn’t matter how many missile boats you build, if your opponent can bring submarines and missile-armed aircraft to bear against them.

source

China has stated publicly for the first time its intention to acquire two or more indigenously designed and built aircraft carriers for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

A brief reference to the strategy has appeared in an annual report from the the State Oceanic Administration (SOA). Although it was published in May, the reference was buried at the end of the 570-page document and has only now been picked up by news outlets in the Asia-Pacific region.

A translation of the SOA's 2010 Ocean Development Report, published by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on 19 December, stated: "In 2009, China put forward an idea and plan for building aircraft carriers. These indicate China has entered the historical era of building a maritime superpower."

The translation continued: "Building China as a maritime power is the mission of China in the whole 21st century, and 2010 to 2020 is the critical period for accomplishing this strategic mission, with the goal to place China among mid-tier maritime powers."

In addition, unconfirmed reports published by the several newspapers in the region are suggesting that construction of a conventionally powered carrier (CV) may have started.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun stated on 17 December: "Construction has already begun at six military affiliated companies and research institutes in Shanghai and other locations."

The R & D projects in China-made engine has some defects, the engine can not be widely used in military aircraft. As we all know, the Chinese improved strategic bombers H -6 equiped with the Russian-made D-30KP engine, JF-17 fighter with the RD-93 engine, J -10 with the AL-31FN engine, J-11 with AL -31F engines.

According to the Russian Military industry News site on December 29 News reported that China's aviation enthusiasts, the 5th generation fighter first clear picture of the most amazing Christmas gifts. J -20 J -14 or code, or J-XX aircraft was taxiing at high speed, "passers, " found that after taking to the web. Perhaps this is to demonstrate transparency, perhaps the country's military strength increasingly strong and proud of China's industrial spun leakage. In short, the new aircraft's engines roar in the Tiger, and now the remaining question is what kind of new aircraft in the end with the engine.

World experts generally believe that China-made engine R & D projects has some drawbacks, not widely used in military aircraft. As we all know, the Chinese strategic bombers H -6 improved engine assembly of the Russian-made D-30KP, JF-17 fighter using the RD-93 engines, J -10 with the AL-31FN engine, use the AL J -11 -31F engines. In short, the engine of China in Russia there is heavy reliance on imports, this trend is likely will continue. According to Russian media and the United Kingdom, "Jane's Defense Weekly " unconfirmed information, Russia has for the Chinese J–14 provides its own prototype of the 117S engine the latest (5th generation Russian fighter T-50 also uses this type of engine) But the news has been questioned. However, on the other hand, the Chinese-made WS-15 engine with the same look less credible, because this engine is not perfect, can not be used to verify the assembly of new machines. In short, China's 5th generation fighter in the end use of the type of engine, is still unknown.

The emergence of J-20 shook the media in the past ten years have no expectation on the aviation industry in China , J-20 seems to be a major step forward in the Chinese air force signals, it appears that that the PLA Air Force has grown up No longer need to rely on outdated Russian or Israeli fighter design.

U.S. Defense News article said that the United States in 1990 had a secret test flight of the F-22 and its competitive model F-23 prototype. Five air superiority fighter currently in terms of whether China has caught up with the U.S.? Recently popular Chinese Web sites everywhere in the People's Liberation Army's newest jet fighter J-20 (F 20) obscure the picture. Some people think these pictures are fake; Also some people think that picture is real, and J-20 project has been well under way. Some analysts argue that these images may be the Chinese government has launched a product of information warfare.

The article said that some of the Internet forums in China have reproduced the J-20 picture, picture show that the aircraft has many typical characteristics of the shape of the Five machines, including the distinctive outline of the front nose, irregular triangular wings and a motor upgrade of the tail. Judging from the plane shape, the Chinese J-20 looks more like the U.S. Air Force F-22 fuselage and the front of the latter part of the Russian T-50 airframe combination.

J-20 has been shaken by the emergence of China's aviation industry more than a decade did not have expectations of the media, J-20 seems to be a major step forward in the Chinese air force signals, it appears that that the PLA Air Force has grown up no longer need to rely on outdated Russian or Israeli fighter design.

Article analyzed, the question now is, J-20 is the emergence of the United States dominate the world aerospace end? Analysts are still nervous F-22 and will be F-35 as a world-class, but when Russia's newest fighter T-50 flight and the Chinese J-20 appears, analysts knock on the status of the U.S. Air Force sound the alarm.

The Pentagon delayed production of F-35, but at the same time, China has been significantly accelerated the development of national secrets Five aircraft rate of progress.

Up to now, J-20 has not yet been flight. F-22 from the first flight to enter service with the U.S. military for 15 years, taking into account the high technology of China's quality control problems, J-20 high-volume service may take years or even longer, which will be the balance of power in the Pacific have some impact. From this we can see that the Chinese Air Force, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to judge and assess the possible bias a little, but not a lot of bias.

The J-20 #2001 prototype was photographed when it was preparing for high-speed taxi trial at the CAC airfield in late December 2010, wearing a distinctive dark green color scheme (RAM coating applied?). The prototype features a pair of all-moving tailfins and Russian 1.44 style ventral stabilizing fins, which shield the engine nozzles but might increase RCS.

It also features an F-22 style forward fuselage, including Caret intakes but with DSI bumps installed at the upper inner corners, as well as a one-piece frameless canopy. However the canards appear to extend slightly above the plane of the main wings and there are four large underwing actuator fairings which might not be stealth optimized. First disclosed by US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in 1997 as XXJ, J-20 is the 4th generation multi-role fighter to enter the service between 2015 and 2018. Since 90s both CAC/611 Institute and SAC/601 Institute had been working their own designs for a twin-engine multi-role heavy fighter with stealth capability and maneuverability comparable to American F-22.

It was speculated that 601 Institute was working on a "tri-plane" design (J-18?) based on canard/conventional layout/V-shape tailfin while 611 Institute working on a design based on canard/tailless delta wing/all moving V-shape tailfin/lateral DSI/bump inlet layout. All designs were expected to feature an internal weapon bay to reduce RCS, which has been speculated to be <0.05m2 (head-on). J-20 also incorporates an advanced FBW system fully integrated with the fire-control and the engine systems. Its fire-control radar is expected to be AESA (Type 1475/KLJ5?). The aircraft may feature a "pure" glass cockpit (a single F-35 style color LCD display and a wide-angle holographic HUD).

Many of these subsystems have been tested onboard J-10B to speed up the development (see above). The exact type of engine powering J-20 prototypes is unclear, even though a Russian turbofan engine such as 117S or 99M2 (14t class) or D-30F6 (15t class) with an axisymmetric TVC nozzle has been speculated. It was reported in November 2006 that a T/W=10 17t class turbofan (WS-15/"large thrust") is being developed and will eventually power J-20. Russian assistance was also speculated in terms of software support for calculating the RCS of various designs. The overall performance of J-20 is thought to be superior to that of Russian T-50 (maneuverability & supercruise) but still inferior to that of American F-22 (electronics & supercruise). In August 2008 it was reported that 611 Institute was selected to be the main contractor for the development of J-20 and 601 Institute as the sub-contractor. Subsequently a full-scale metal mockup was built at CAC.

One rumor in May 2010 claimed that 611 Institute started to construct the first prototype, which was expected to fly by the end of 2010, even though the full configuration model won't fly until a few years later. Currently two prototypes (#2001 & 2002) have been constructed and the first high-speed taxi trial by 2001 took place on December 22, 2010.

A new stealthy 4.5+ generation heavy fighter, developed from the J-11B, is supposed to make its first flight in 2011.

It's named the J-16 by unconfirmed sources.

It was rumored in November 2010 that SAC is developing a 4.5th generation heavy multi-role fighter.With a conventional layout based on J-11B. First flight was rumored to be within 2011.

Source: Chinese Thunder Dragon Magazine:

J-911C "game birds are" as the author designed a multi-mission land-based fighter aircraft program. It uses standard full-motion no tail x aerodynamic winglets. Head and the edge of the smooth transition back gradually blended wing body with no apparent boundaries of the fuselage and wings.

The wing-body fusion of the body designed to maximize interior space and increase the availability of additional lift. Inlet tanks at the task in front of the nose. This structure can reduce the size of the task of enormous tanks of resistance, but also conducive to high angle of attack when the intake efficiency. Cabin set in a high position, increasing the driver's field of view in favor. Nozzle with all the vector control.

"Game bird person" within the main wing with a motorized fan to provide vertical thrust, and its diameter of 7.6 meters. Vertical takeoff and landing, and maneuvering for the increase in lift. The following are tasks the fan compartment, the large space with 15-21 cubic meters of volume.

Task is two sides of the engine compartment, outside the main landing gear in the engine, placed in the inlet to move away next. Landing gear installed in the inlet before the lower, back away. In the tail with short-range defense / attack systems for close combat and intercept incoming missiles. The following will be introduced one by one "game bird who" of the performance characteristics.

First, the ultra-mobility.

full motion full pneumatic small wing lifting surface is divided into the wing, stabilizer and control surfaces. Fighter aircraft, including large aircraft, the horizontal tail design for the whole move is to increase the torque control aircraft pitch. The greater the control surfaces that control the aircraft the greater the torque, the aircraft's response is the sooner. So speaking from a position in a certain range of the aircraft control surface center of gravity farther away from the larger control torque.

According to this theory, we separate the role of wing press, the lifting surface design in a separate location near the aircraft center of gravity, and then integrated control surface and the stabilizer, placed as far away from the aircraft center of gravity. A pair of front wing and rear wing arrangement of a pair of the four corners of the aircraft center of gravity, the formation of x-type. This is a small wing X full motion. Obviously, in terms of pitch or roll to do action, X layout can provide maximum torque.

Nozzle to vector the whole "game birds are" full-vector nozzle to provide thrust towards the control of six directions, up and down in about two deflection of four under the deflector, the maximum angle of about 30 each vector degrees, 90 degrees up and down 95 degrees. 95 degrees down to hover in order to control the attitude and design. Do up and down the convergence deflector four movements, for adaptation to the size of the engine jet flow. In connection with the engine nozzle with lead shot into the upper and lower air intake, the role of two points.

First, the argument can be used as nozzle fired into the air intake to increase traffic and reduce the wake temperature.

Followed by four in the upper and lower guide plate is turned off completely when the jet engine exhaust will be forced from the opening two long bar in front of discharge syncline, which is the inverse function.

Second, the low visibility.

Shape only by stealth and radar absorbing coating is not enough to reduce the RCS value. Here the low visibility of the "see" I think the meaning should be found, and should not simply refer to the radar visibility. It should be a factor in all the general term that can be detected.

Non-wing control "game bird who" in the cruise can be more effective in reducing RCS values, because then only the use of vector control aircraft attitude can nozzle. This will avoid the control surface in the shape of turning invisible when the damage.

The concept of stealth combat aircraft, although some can be invisible but only a stealth cruise, in its state into the fighting will temporarily lose stealth. The "game birds were" due to the inlet wall and the wing root to install a plasma generator, it's control surfaces in the large angle rotation can still maintain a low RCS state.

The concept of stealth attack stealth aircraft missiles in combat must be extended so that the guide head lock EVA target, open the bomb bay would increase the RCS values. The "game bird who" have a "cabin launch" capability. Missiles can be projected out from the inlet until the missiles start flying after the collapse EVA Wings re-ignition. In fact, conventional pylons have similar institutions, but it is sent down force, but also smaller forces.

Infrared Infrared Stealth aircraft is the largest local characteristics of the end of nozzle, but it is not impossible infrared feature. "Game bird who" in addition to reduced use of ejector wake temperature, because of its inlet attached to the inner wall of the plasma layer will be inhaled by the engine outer bypass discharge. Plasma is also for reducing the visibility of certain infrared effect. At this point the plasma discharge by the nozzle wake wrapped in the peripheral temperature, without reducing the efficiency of the case of jet greatly reduced infrared signature.

Third, the vertical mobility.

"Game bird who" installed in the main wing through the vertical fan and the downward deflection of nozzle for its ability to provide vertical takeoff and landing. This makes him, in most cases the same, like a helicopter taking off and landing in the field of flat ground.

Fourth, super fighting skills.

The key to the traditional fighting, in the shortest possible time, opponents point to the head and then opened fire. "Game bird who" completely break the pattern, even if do not do the same maneuver can be done any fighting. This depends on the off-axis attack. And this off-axis attack, but also is based on its short-range laser defense / attack systems.

The concept of off-axis attack: "Scorpion" Laser short-range defense / attack system. Off-axis against the axis of the aircraft is outside the attacks. Do in the body posture changes relative to turn their weapons goals. Have this capability, the aircraft will not have the mobility of fighting ability, mobility aircraft even more powerful. In the "game bird who" of the rear fuselage with a laser short-range defense / attack system, back out the caudal is the execution platform. The system has three functions: short-range defense, short-range attacks and view aim. Caudal vertebrae can rotate 90 degrees up or down, and its execution platform does not rotate when the angle of attack is greater than after the hemisphere, so that we can do almost no dead ends.

Fifth, the task module concept.

In the implementation of different tasks, different tasks through the unit to re-mount configuration tasks module. "Game bird person," according to mission requirements, is converted to different purposes. Or focus on a variety of tasks to complete the flight.

Although the "game bird who" in the post-mounted unit can not achieve the task-specific type of combat effectiveness, but it can greatly enhance their battlefield use of the versatility and convenience. "Game bird who" of the task space can be fully opened down, ground personnel to facilitate their internal operations.

Also in the firing anti-ship missiles, because missiles are too large to open the side door, throwing missiles fired after the ignition.

China’s first known stealth aircraft just emerged from a secret development program and was undergoing high-speed taxi tests late last week at Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute’s airfield. Said to be designated J-20, it is larger than most observers expected—pointing to long range and heavy weapon loads.
Its timing, Chengdu’s development record and official statements cast doubt on U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s 2009 prediction (in support of his decision to stop production of the Lockheed Martin F-22) that China would not have an operational stealth aircraft before 2020.

The debut of the J-20 was announced in a November 2009 interview on Chinese TV by Gen. He Weirong, deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The general said a “fourth-generation” fighter (Chinese terminology for a stealth fighter) would be flown in 2010-11 and be operational in 2017-19.

The J-20 is a single-seat, twin-engine aircraft, bigger and heavier than the Sukhoi T-50 and the F-22. Comparison with ground-service vehicles points to an overall length of 75 ft. and a wingspan of 45 ft. or more, which would suggest a takeoff weight in the 75,000-80,000-lb. class with no external load. That in turn implies a generous internal fuel capacity. The overall length is close to that of the 1960s General Dynamics F-111, which carries 34,000 lb. of fuel.
The J-20 has a canard delta layout (like Chengdu’s J-10) with two canted, all-moving vertical stabilizers (like the T-50) and smaller canted ventral fins. The stealth body shaping is similar to that of the F-22. The flat body sides are aligned with the canted tails, the wing-body junction is clean, and there is a sharp chine line around the forward fuselage. The cant angles are greater than they are on the Lockheed Martin F-35, and the frameless canopy is similar to that of the F-22.

The engines are most likely members of the Russian Saturn AL-31F family, also used on the J-10. The production version will require yet-to-mature indigenous engines. The inlets use diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) technology, first adopted for the F-35 but also used by Chengdu on the J-10B—the newest version of the J-10—and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder.
The main landing gears retract into body-side bays, indicating the likely presence of F-22-style side weapon bays ahead of them. The ground clearance is higher than on the F-22, which would facilitate loading larger weapons including air-to-surface munitions. Chinese engineers at the Zhuhai air show in November disclosed that newly developed air-to-ground weapons are now required to be compatible with the J-20.
Features at the rear of the aircraft—including underwing actuator fairings, axisymmetrical engine exhausts and the ventral fins—appear less compatible with stealth, so the J-20 may not match the all-aspect stealth of the F-22. There are two possible explanations for this: Either the aircraft seen here is the first step toward an operational design, or China’s requirements do not place as much stress on rear-aspect signatures.

The major open question at this point is whether the J-20 is a true prototype, like the T-50, or a technology demonstrator, with a status similar to the YF-22 flown in 1990. That question will be answered by whether, and how many, further J-20s enter flight testing in the next 12-24 months.

Developing an effective multi-mission stealthy aircraft presents challenges beyond the airframe, because it requires a sensor suite that uses automated data fusion, emission control and low-probability-of-intercept data links to build an operational picture for the pilot without giving away the aircraft’s own location.

A rapid development program would be a challenge for China’s combat aircraft industry, which is currently busy: The J-10B, FC-17 and Shenyang’s J-11B and carrier-based J-15 are all under development. However, the progress of China’s military aviation technology has been rapid since the first flight of the J-10 in 1996, owing to the nation’s growing economy and the push by the People’s Liberation Army for a modernized military force in all domains. Before the J-10, China’s only indigenous production combat aircraft were the Shenyang J-8 and Xian JH-7, reflecting early-1960s technology from Russia and Europe.

Engine development has lagged airframe development, with reports that the Shenyang WS-10 engine, slated to replace Russian engines in the J-11B, has been slow to reach acceptable reliability and durability levels. That may not be surprising, given that high-performance engine technology is founded on specialized alloys and processes that often have no other uses. (The existence of the J-11B, essentially a “bootleg” version of the Su-27, has been a strain on relationships between the Russian and Chinese industries.)

Progress with avionics may be indicated by the advent of the J-10B, with new features that include a canted radar bulkhead (normally associated with an active, electronically scanned array antenna), an infrared search-and-track system, and housings for new electronic warfare antennas.

One question that may go unanswered for a long time concerns the degree to which cyberespionage has aided the development of the J-20. U.S. defense industry cybersecurity experts have cited 2006—close to the date when the J-20 program would have started—as the point at which they became aware of what was later named the advanced persistent threat (APT), a campaign of cyberintrusion aimed primarily at military and defense industries and characterized by sophisticated infiltration and exfiltration techniques.

Dale Meyerrose, information security vice president for the Harris Corp. and former chief information officer for the director of national intelligence, told an Aviation Week cybersecurity conference in April 2010 that the APT had been little discussed outside the classified realm, up to that point, because “the vast majority of APT attacks are believed to come from a single country.”

Between 2009 and early 2010, Lockheed Martin found that “six to eight companies” among its subcontractors “had been totally compromised—e-mails, their networks, everything,” according to Chief Information Security Officer Anne Mullins.

The way in which the J-20 was unveiled also reflects China’s use and control of information technology to support national interests. The test airfield is located in the city of Chengdu and is not secure, with many public viewing points. Photography is technically forbidden, but reports suggest that patrols have been permitting the use of cell phone cameras. From Dec. 25‑29, these images were placed on Chinese Internet discussion boards, and after an early intervention by censors—which served to draw attention to the activity—they appeared with steadily increasing quality. Substantial international attention was thereby achieved without any official disclosures.