About the most mysterious invisible plane of the Middle Kingdom
Today, only two countries in the world have been able to develop on their own and take to the skies the 5th generation fighters of two quite significantly different types at once – the United States and China. The others have either created only one combat aircraft of this class, or are still creating them. By the way, according to the Chinese nomenclature, those combat aircraft that are generally referred to as the 5th generation around the world are referred to as the 4th generation in the Middle Kingdom itself. Well, the East, as you know, is a delicate matter.
In the shadow of the Mighty Dragon»
The main striking force of the Chinese aviation of the future will be the 5th generation fighter "Jian-20" (J-20), which is known as the "Mighty Dragon" (Chinese version) or "Black Eagle" (Western version). It is already in service with the PLA Air Force, and more than fifty such vehicles have been produced so far. However, in the shadow of the "Mighty Dragon" lurked another, less well-known, but no less interesting from all points of view, the representative of the combat aviation complexes of the 5th generation in Chinese.
We are talking about the fighter FC-31 "Gyrfalcon" (Gyrfalcon), which initially appeared in the media and on forums under the unofficial designation "Jian-31" (J-31). This combat vehicle was developed by specialists of the company Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, located in the city of Shenyang, Liaoning Province and is part of the large Chinese aircraft corporation AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China).
Sensation after sensation
The first flight of this Chinese stealth aircraft, created as part of the" Project 310 " at the developer's own expense and representing by and large a light version of the 5th generation fighter, made almost 10 years ago-on October 31, 2012. And already at the international aerospace exhibition Air Show China 2012, which followed shortly after, held in Zhuhai from November 13 to 18, a large-scale model of this novelty of the Chinese aviation industry was shown. Unprecedented openness to the super-closed regarding China's military affairs.
However, then the plane passed under the neutral name "promising multi-purpose fighter", which can be assigned to almost any novelty in this class of combat aircraft. The official designation FC-31 in connection with this program was first mentioned only two years later – at the 2014 Zhuhai Aerospace Salon. And then visitors could not only get acquainted with the scale model of the Chinese multi-purpose medium fighter of the 5th generation, but also from afar to admire this machine as part of the flight program of the exhibition. By the way, the Jian-20 fighter appeared at the Zhuhai air Show only two years later, and then only for a moment, making a rapid flight in front of numerous spectators during the official opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Well, in 2015, Aviaexport was waiting for a new sensation from aircraft manufacturers from China within the next Dubai international Airshow Central place in the poster exhibition of the Chinese AVIC aircraft Corporation held an impressive and conspicuous large-scale model airplane FC-31.
Moreover, the interest in the car, even though both the model and the fighter itself had already been demonstrated" live " in Zhuhai, was so high that the developer held a press briefing at the Dubai exhibition, during which Lin Peng, the head of this program at AVIC Corporation (although he is often represented as the chief designer of the aircraft) provided some information on the FC-31 project. But at the same time, the traditional question and answer session in such cases was not organized, so the journalists did not have the opportunity to clarify any points of interest to them.
As noted at the time, the list of tasks of the Chinese light class stealth fighter will include: gaining air supremacy – with the possibility of hitting air targets beyond the visual range-and striking the enemy's most valuable ground targets located deep in its defense; suppressing important enemy air defense objects and solving tasks in the interests of its air defense; providing direct fire support to its troops, as well as conducting reconnaissance and surveillance. The solution of these tasks is expected to be provided at any time of the day and in a wide range of weather and climatic conditions.
Moreover, representatives of the developer company noted that the specific composition of weapons systems and avionics will be determined based on the requirements of the customer. The ability of the promising machine to work in a network-centric combat control system with the ability to exchange target designation data with other combat aircraft, etc., was also particularly noted.
I would like to emphasize that after the Dubai FC-31 display, many experts immediately started talking about the fact that, unlike the Jian-20 aircraft, this 5th-generation Chinese fighter is primarily intended not for its own Defense Ministry, but for export. Moreover, the Chinese military itself did not show much interest in this car either then or later.
Design features
In the appearance of the "live" FC-31 and its scale model, individual features of both the aforementioned Chinese 5th-generation J-20 fighter, and its foreign counterparts – the American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II and the Russian Su-57 are easily guessed. Including the widespread use of elements developed in the framework of stealth stealth technology.
However, of course, the most "Gyrfalcon" resembles the F-35. Moreover, the Chinese combat vehicle is approximately in the same weight category as the American one: The maximum take-off weight of the Lightning II fighter in the basic version (F-35A) is about 32 tons, and the declared maximum take-off weight of the Chinese fighter is about 25 tons. At least, this figure has so far been presented in advertising and information leaflets distributed by the developer company at international exhibitions.
FC-31 has a single cabin, the instrument equipment of which is arranged according to the principle of "glass cabin". At the Air Show China 2016 exhibition, Chinese experts presented a mock-up of a concept project for advanced cabin instrumentation (Advanced Avionics Concept Cockpit), which many experts immediately associated with the "Gyrfalcon". The reasons for this were quite weighty: the layout of the cabin was very close to the layout of this aircraft. Among the main distinctive features of the concept project, it is possible to note the presence of one multifunctional large-format liquid crystal display with touch control, a standard indicator on the background of the windshield and a side control knob.
The fighter is equipped with a twin-engine power plant: on the first flight prototype-a car with the tail number 31001 – and, possibly, on the second, modified flight prototype, which is often mentioned in Chinese sources, the developer put Russian dual-circuit turbojet engines of the RD-93 series, but it is planned to put engines of national development on production aircraft. The "engines" of the WS-13 or WS-19 families are considered as contenders.
The aircraft received a wing with a span of 11.5 m, which, interestingly, is made as a single structural element together with the center section, and a two-keel tail with a camber of the keels outwards. Moreover, if the first flight prototype of the FC-31, shown in Zhuhai in 2014, had trapezoidal keels-as on the F-22A fighter, then on the scale model presented at the same time, they were already made in a version with a positive sweep along the trailing edge-exactly like on the F-35 fighter. By the way, the model also "cut" the wingtips and horizontal tail.
It should be particularly noted that in the design of the Chinese fighter of the 5th generation of the light class, large-sized elements of the airframe frame and its fuselage skin panels are widely used, as well as elements made using 3D printing technology are actively used. All this, apparently, should simplify the production process and reduce the purchase cost of serial machines.
The developer sees the latter most likely in the form in which the" Gyrfalcon " was presented on its large-scale model. Although it is possible that this is just one of the engineering and design iterations on the long path of creating the final version of the next-generation light stealth fighter.
As for reducing the visibility of its fighter in various ranges, the developer, according to the information provided by him, intends to provide it through the use of S-shaped engine air intakes and jet nozzles with jagged edges on the rear section (this was clearly visible on a large-scale model of the machine), the use of special radio-absorbing coatings, etc.
Depending on the customer's requirements
The placement of aircraft weapons is primarily provided for in the internal armament compartment, which is structurally located in the lower middle part of the fuselage of the machine and is equipped with two-section flaps. Judging by the presented model, the compartment can accommodate four guided air–to-air missiles or aerial bombs with a total weight of up to 2 thousand kg. In addition, the placement of aircraft weapons is also provided on six external underwing suspension units.
The complex avionics easy Chinese stealth fighter, as already mentioned, the developer expects to generate based on the requirements of specific customers, although, based on the features shown on the models, we can say that below in the nose of the aircraft fuselage will definitely be installed optical-electronic system.
According to the information provided in the advertising and information materials distributed at the exhibitions, the length of the aircraft is 16.8 m (according to other sources-17.3 m), and the height is 4.79 m. The maximum combat load of the FC-31, as indicated by the developer, will be 8 thousand kg, including 2 thousand kg - in the internal weapons compartment.
While combat radius of the machine under condition of air weapons only in the internal weapons bays will reach 1.2 thousand km to Increase it, apparently, will be at the expense of in-flight refueling – related equipment on the car, apparently, it is planned to install (at least on the presented scale model of a fuel rod is present).
Ceiling of the "Merlin" is up to 16 m, and a maximum speed of approximately M=1,8. The estimated service life is about 6-8 thousand flight hours, or 30 years.
The future of carrier-based aviation?
Initially, the developer claimed that the first flight of the serial FC-31 should take place in 2019, for 2022 it was planned to achieve initial, and for 2025-full operational readiness. Moreover, judging by the statements made in 2014-2015 by Chinese representatives, there were no customers for the car at that time, although, as it was claimed, negotiations were conducted, including with the PLA Air Force command.
The year is already 2021, but there was no information that the aircraft was adopted by the Chinese aviation or entered at least small-scale production. It is possible that in the light of the success that accompanied the Jian-20 program, the adoption of a light version of the 5th generation fighter in Beijing was considered unnecessary. There is no information that the FC-31 was purchased by one of the foreign customers.
But in Chinese social networks and the media constantly circulates information about the ongoing tests of this machine, and already in a modified version. But I emphasize: all these messages are not officially confirmed by the developer. At the same time, the AVIC advertising poster, which appeared in January 2021 on the eve of the annual working conference of this corporation on its Weibo account, shows the FC-31 aircraft among the five main "breakthrough projects" of the company – along with the J-20 heavy stealth fighter, the Y-20 military transport aircraft, the Z-20 multi-purpose combat helicopter and the GJ-11 stealth reconnaissance and strike drone, which looks very similar to our Hunter.
On the other hand, recently the media leaked information that the "Gyrfalcon" can be used to create a deck version of the stealth aircraft, which will enter service with the aircraft carrier aviation of the Chinese Navy. This assumption does not seem so fantastic. After all, the Middle Kingdom already has two combat-ready aircraft carriers, and soon it is expected to receive a third, larger floating airfield – the first of two ships that will be built according to the new project and will receive a number of new systems, including electromagnetic catapults. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is already being viewed in the future.
The heavy "Jian-20" will not land on these ships in any case, but the lighter FC-31 will be able to. It is only necessary to refine it a little, which, as it seems, is not so difficult from a technical point of view. Moreover, in March 2013, a renowned expert in the field of aviation, sun Cong, chief designer of China's first carrier-based fighter J-15, then – chief designer of "Merlin", and today – the President of the Chinese aviation Academy (Chinese Aeronautical Establishment – SAE), in an interview with Xinhua news Agency said that in the future the FC-31 "could become a carrier-based fighter". So, it is quite possible that soon we are waiting for a new sensation.
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Deputy Executive Editor of HBO
Vladimir Leonidovich Shcherbakov-journalist, writer.
