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CHINA is developing a new jet fighter from its aircraft carriers after a series of fatal accidents involving its Russian-designed "Flying Shark".
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports a series of mechanical failures and four accidents are behind the decision to replace the J-15s that were performing experimental flights aboard the first carrier. Chinese planes, Liaoning.
The "Flying Shark" J-15 is a derivative of the Su-33 fighter. He's himself a descendant of the Su-27, a 30-year-old Cold War design.
But the J-15 turns out to be too big, too heavy – and too unreliable – for operations aboard small Chinese aircraft carriers.
Liaoning is a renovated Soviet-era aircraft carrier bought in Ukraine in the late 1990s. The first aircraft carrier built by Beijing, known only under the name of Type 002A, is an inverted version of the Soviet design.
Both are considerably smaller than US nuclear aircraft carriers, but the J-15 is heavier than anything US ships operate. And this pushed the landing and takeoff technology of Chinese carriers beyond the limit.
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While Beijing has already admitted to two serious accidents involving the type, the sources of the Post report, as it was said four were caused by what is called "unforgivable". "The J-15 is a problematic aircraft – its unstable flight control system was the key factor behind the two fatal accidents two years ago," said one of the sources.
STEALTH MOVE
The deputy head of the air force of the People's Liberation Army, General Zhang Honghe, told the post that A "new carrier-based fighter to replace the J-15" was being developed. Naval expert Li Jie told the Post that the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter "Falcon Hawk" prototype could be adapted for transport operations. It is smaller and lighter than the Chinese stealth fighter J-20 entered service last year
"To improve the combat effectiveness of Chinese aircraft carrier strike groups" , it is necessary to develop a new embedded fighter, "Li said.
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When this battle jet was made public in 2014, aviation experts from around the world commented on its Similarities with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter developed in the West. It was suspected that the arrest of Chinese agents attempting to smuggle F-35 design material out of the United States may have been linked to its development.
The decision to replace the J-15 driving with some urgency because the second aircraft carrier of China is expected to be operational early next year.
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The third Chinese aircraft carrier, known only as Type 002, will be larger and equipped with catapults and similar electromagnetic shutdown systems. modern ship – the Ford USS. But he would still be likely to struggle with the J-15 overweight.
The Liaoning and the Type 001A rely on the use of a "ski ramp" at the bow of the ships to launch airplanes in the sky. This significantly reduces the weight of the weapons and fuel that the aircraft can carry.
TOLL TOLL
The post says that the Navy of the APL only acknowledged that there had been problems with the J-15 after two deaths and one injury Seriously two years ago
his flight control systems failed during a simulated landing on Liaoning in April 2016, according to media reports. Two weeks later, the pilot Cao Xianjian was seriously injured when his J-15 suffered the same failure.
No details are available on the other two reported accidents.
"Of course impossible to prevent an accident from occurring during training." But unlike their counterparts in Western countries, the pilots of the army Chinese air are advised to get around these mechanical errors, "said a Navy veteran at Post
.
"The APL Air Force pilots are trained to the mission of saving the plane, which is the property of the state … but that must change because human lives are invaluable.The plane can be rebuilt after an accident, but the pilots are irreplaceable. "
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