Compared with the active conventional heavy battles between China, the United States and Russia, the J-16 has taken the lead in combat power, and it has surpassed the United States and Russia in 30 years
author:Wenyuan's history book
Preface
In today's world, there are very few countries that have the capability to independently develop and mass-produce heavy fighters, and the burden mainly falls on the shoulders of China, the United States and Russia.
After all, heavy fighters can carry more powerful weapons, have better flight performance, and have more advanced radar systems, and their combat effectiveness is significantly better than that of light and medium fighters, and they are the main equipment of the air forces of major countries.
Therefore, China, the United States and Russia are all catching up in this field, and the advanced conventional heavy fighters in service in three countries are: China's J-16, the United States' F-15EX, and Russia's Su-35.
It is also a fourth-generation and a half-generation fighter, and compared with the F-15EX and Su-35 of the United States and Russia, the mainland started late in this field, but through 30 years of efforts, how is the development of the mainland now? Is the J-16 really surpassing the United States and Russia as everyone says?
Heavy fighter
Compared to light and medium fighters, heavy fighters have more fuselage space, can hold more fuel and have more powerful engines, greatly extending the combat radius without the need for in-flight refueling.
At the same time, the wider fuselage also provides room for the increase of bomb load, and the heavy fighter can carry a larger number and more comprehensive range of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles to complete various strike missions.
In addition, the heavy fighter has better flight performance and a more powerful radar system.
The large fuselage with the advanced aerodynamic layout design allows the heavy fighter to have maneuverability that is close to or even inferior to that of the light fighter.
At the same time, the larger nose and internal space can also accommodate larger-caliber skid or planar phased array radars, which have a longer detection range and stronger anti-jamming capabilities.
Therefore, the combined combat effectiveness of heavy fighters is significantly better than that of other types of fighters, and they are the main equipment of the air forces of major powers.
At present, the advanced conventional heavy fighters in service in China, the United States and Russia are: China's J-16, the United States' F-15EX, and Russia's Su-35S.
Among them, the J-16 has been continuously improved, how has it developed?
More than 10 J-16 arrays CCTV military screenshots
The development process of the J-16
In the 90s of the 20th century, the mainland imported 76 Su-27 fighters from Russia, which was one of the most advanced heavy fighters in the world at that time.
China imitated and improved it through reverse engineering technology, and in 1998 it flew its first self-developed J-11 prototype.
On the basis of the J-11, Continental Aviation Industry has successfully developed the J-16, a fourth-generation semi-heavy multi-role fighter.
The J-16 made its first flight in 2012 and was officially installed in the Air Force and Naval Aviation of the People's Liberation Army of Chinese People's Liberation Army in 2016.
The entry into service of the J-16 is of great significance to the Chinese Air Force.
Before the J-16 was put into service, the continental air force had long focused on territorial air defense, and lacked tactical strike capabilities.
The J-16 has powerful ground and sea strike capabilities, and with its blessing, the continental air force has realized the transformation from defensive to offensive and defensive, which has greatly improved the combat effectiveness of air power.
It can be said that the J-16 has greatly promoted the transformation and upgrading of the continental air force, and at the same time, the performance of the J-16 is also very good.
Excellent performance of the J-16
After continuous improvement and upgrading, the J-16 has reached or even exceeded the world's advanced level in various performance indicators.
Major breakthroughs have been made in airframes, power, avionics and other aspects, which have played a key role in improving the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force.
The application of body materials greatly reduces weight and improves mobility
The J-16 uses a large number of advanced lightweight materials such as composite materials and titanium alloys, which reduces the structural weight by nearly 1-2 tons compared to its predecessor, the J-11.
This lighter empty weight in turn improves the aircraft's thrust-to-weight ratio and acceleration, resulting in better maneuverability.
In addition, the advanced aerodynamic layout and streamlined design also greatly reduce the aerodynamic drag of the fuselage and increase the flight speed of the J-16.
This provides hardware support for the J-16 to carry out air combat maneuvers and high-speed ground-to-sea penetration strikes.
The power system was upgraded, and the thrust-to-weight ratio of the engine was superior to that of the Su-30MKK
The J-16 adopts the self-developed turbofan-10 Taihang engine, which is an advanced military aviation engine with a high thrust-to-weight ratio.
Compared with the AL-31 engine used in the Su-30MKK, the turbofan-10B of the J-16 provides a larger maximum backburn thrust and a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, which effectively improves the acceleration, climb rate and cruising speed of the J-16.
The advanced vector thrust technology also enhances the J-16's low-speed maneuverability and short take-off and landing performance, and it can be said that the J-16's power system has achieved a smooth and efficient surge.
The radar system has been improved several times, and the maximum detection distance in the air can reach 500 kilometers
The J-16 is equipped with an active phased array radar independently developed by the mainland, which has achieved a qualitative leap compared with the domestic pulse Doppler radar used by the J-11.
The phased array composed of a large number of RF modules has higher transmitting power and stronger anti-interference ability.
After continuous upgrading, the radar performance of the J-16 has reached the world's advanced level, the maximum detection range has reached more than 200 kilometers, and the anti-air combat capability has been improved several times.
Missile equipment has been localized, and the application effect is even better
The J-16 can carry a large number of domestic air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, completely getting rid of the dependence on imported equipment.
The "Thunderbolt" and "Eagle Strike" series missiles can be deeply matched with the fire control system of the J-16 and exert strong combat effectiveness.
In addition, the J-16 is also capable of using a variety of large-capacity air-to-ship missiles, which have reliable all-weather strike capabilities against moving targets at sea.
The overall combat effectiveness ranks first in the world, achieving the goal of surpassing the United States and Russia
After continuous upgrades, the J-16 has reached or even surpassed the world's advanced level in terms of air-to-weight ratio, radar system, weapons and equipment, and overall informatization level.
This fully reflects the substantial improvement of China's scientific research strength and military industrial capabilities, and the overall combat capability of the J-16 has stood out from the crowd, and it is undoubtedly one of the most advanced heavy fighters in the world.
Inadequacy of the US F-15EX
In contrast, the 104 F-15EX heavy fighters in service in the US military obviously have some shortcomings, although they also belong to the fourth and a half generation level, they are stagnant in many aspects, and it is difficult to compete with the J-16.
Both engines and radars are lagging behind the times
The F110-GE-129 engine used in the F-15EX has a thrust of only 13 tons, which is comparable to the technical level of the 80s of the last century.
The radar system is also only an AN/APG-82 active phased array, which is a relatively old model.
These two key components are not the most advanced configuration of the current US military equipment, so the power and detection capabilities of the F-15EX lag behind the J-16.
The maneuverability of air combat is inferior to that of the J-16, and the amount of ammunition carried is also comparable
The aerodynamic layout and engine configuration of the F-15EX determine that its air combat maneuverability is inferior to that of the J-16.
At the same time, too many external fuel tanks also add drag to the F-15EX's maneuvering.
Although the bomb-carrying capacity is very powerful, the actual effective bomb load is almost the same as that of the J-16.
The overall technology has stagnated, and it is inferior to the scientific and technological content of the J-16
On the whole, the overall technology of the F-15EX has stagnated in the last century and has not kept pace with the pace of scientific and technological progress in the new century.
This is in stark contrast to the J-16, which continues to be upgraded, and it is difficult to compete with it.
The F-15EX is neither a priority for the US military, nor does it pose a real threat to the Chinese Air Force.
The Su-35 has shortcomings
Compared with the J-16, the Russian-made Su-35 heavy fighter also has certain shortcomings, and its overall technical level is still far from the Chinese J-16, and the Russian Su-35 is still in service with less than 100 aircraft.
The synergistic performance of avionics systems is uneven
The Su-35 uses the advanced "Snow Leopard-E" passive phased array radar, but other avionics equipment is not enough to match it, and the cooperative combat capability of the entire system is uneven.
Sometimes there is even a problem of mutual interference, which reduces the effectiveness of the Su-35 in real combat.
The overall reliability was insufficient, and there were multiple failures
In addition, the overall reliability of the Su-35 needs to be further improved.
This fighter had many power system and electronic equipment failures in the early days of test flight and service, resulting in flight accidents, which reflected the design flaws of the Su-35 from one side.
It is difficult to compare with the J-16 in terms of equipment and capabilities in all aspects
The radar, engine, and avionics systems of the Su-35 are not as advanced and coordinated as those of the J-16, mainly due to the fact that China's scientific research level is rapidly catching up with or even surpassing Russia's.
It can be said that the Su-35 is no longer the benchmark for heavy fighters, and its equipment and capabilities are difficult to compare with the J-16.
30年磨一剑,歼-16成就辉煌
The J-16 eventually became the world's top heavy multi-role fighter, which is of great significance to China's air combat forces.
It has changed from a defensive type of air force to an offensive and defensive one
The J-16 enables the Chinese Air Force to realize the transformation from a pure air defense type to both offensive and defensive capabilities, and is a key platform for the air combat force to achieve leapfrogging, which reflects an important symbol of China's military strength moving towards high-quality development.
The batch equipment of the J-16 has greatly improved its combat capability
At present, the J-16 has been installed in batches with a number of combat units, and its number continues to increase, judging from the online data, the mainland has been equipped with 300 J-16 fighters.
Moreover, the numerical superiority of the J-16 will continue to expand, which will greatly improve the overall combat capability of the Chinese Air Force.
Especially in terms of fighting for air supremacy and carrying out strategic strikes on the periphery, the J-16 batch equipment is of great significance.
epilogue
The successful development of the J-16 is an important symbol of the maturity of China's military science and technology.
After 30 years of arduous exploration and innovation, this is the world's most outstanding heavy fighter.
The large number of J-16s has greatly improved the combat capability of the PLA, giving China the strength to deal with various threats.
The birth of the J-16 proves that China has the ability to independently develop world-class weapons and equipment.
This is an important achievement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and it will certainly have a positive impact on the peace and development of the region and the world.
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