All countries in the world are constantly developing new types of weapons and equipment to enhance their national military strength. In the field of air force in particular, countries around the globe are working to upgrade fighter jets to seize air supremacy, intercept enemy bombers, strike aircraft, and cruise missiles, and carry out ground attack missions. Currently, the most advanced fighter in the world belongs to the fifth generation aircraft, also known as stealth fighters. These fifth-generation aircraft have advanced stealth performance, supersonic cruise, high maneuverability, and the ability to carry multiple missiles for long-range operations, giving previous fighters a huge advantage, often performing missions without being detected by the enemy.
So far, there are only five fifth-generation aircraft in the world, developed by three countries: the United States, China and Russia. The five fifth-generation aircraft include the American F-22 and F-35, China's J-20 and FC-31 (also known as the "J-31"), and Russia's Su-57. The United States was the first country to develop a fifth-generation aircraft, and the F-22 and F-35 are already in service. China is the second country to develop a fifth-generation aircraft, and the J-20 is already in service, while the FC-31 fighter (or "J-31") is still in the testing stage.
Although the FC-31 fighter (or "J-31") was developed a year later than the J-20, it was delayed in service and faced multiple challenges. The fighter has two verification models, version 1.0 and version 2.0, but compared with the American F-35 fighter, its performance is obviously not satisfactory.
According to information published by the aviation industry department, the FC-31 fighter is positioned as a medium fighter, similar to the American F-35 fighter. It features a built-in weapons bay capable of carrying a wide range of missiles, a dual V-tail, DSI and S-bend air intakes, and a traditional classic aerodynamic layout that gives it great stealth capabilities. The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 28 tons, a combat radius of 1250 kilometers, and a maximum speed of Mach 1.8.
However, the main problem behind the delay in the entry into service of the FC-31 fighter is the engine. Currently, the 2.0 version of the FC-31 uses two turbofan-13 engines, which are an imitation of the RD-93 engine, and its thrust is insufficient, making it a gap with the F-135 engine used by the American F-35. As we all know, the engine is the core of the fighter, and the lack of thrust will affect the performance of the fighter, which is the main reason why the FC-31 fighter is not in service.
However, it is worth noting that the FC-31 fighter has not been abandoned, and it is still highly valued by Shenfei. Recently, China's aviation industry made public for the first time on Weibo a picture of the "Future Carrier-based Fighter", which, despite the blurred outline, bears a strong resemblance to the FC-31 fighter. From the side, the "future carrier-based fighter" is similar to the FC-31 fighter, which indicates that the FC-31 fighter is likely to soon become the first choice of carrier-based aircraft in the Navy.
In order to truly put the FC-31 into service, it had to be further refined. This includes upgrading comprehensive avionics and sensor systems, improving situational awareness and electronic countermeasures capabilities, increasing fuel capacity to improve range, and more powerful engines. The turbofan-19 engine was considered a suitable choice, with higher thrust and more power, which is expected to make the FC-31 fighter comparable to the American F-35C.
In conclusion, China's next-generation carrier-based aircraft may be the FC-31 fighter, but its upgrade and improvement are still ongoing. In the future, once China's electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier is successfully built and successfully combined with the next generation of carrier-based aircraft, the strength of the Chinese Navy will once again approach that of the United States.