https://www.scmp.com/news/china/mili...ext-generation

China’s navy ‘set to pick J-20 stealth jets for its next generation carriers’

China’s military is likely to pick the country’s first active stealth fighter, the J-20, for its next generation aircraft carriers, according to military sources and a recent report on state media.


The J-20, made by the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC), appears to have a won a head-to-head contest with the FC-31, a fighter made by another company which is still undergoing testing.A military insider told the South China Morning Post that the Central Military Commission, the People’s Liberation Army’s top decision-making body, now favoured adapting the J-20 for its new carriers.

“The Chengdu Aerospace Corporation will announce some new products, which will include a new version of their J-20. You can guess what type it will be,” the military insider, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said.

The FC-31 was independently developed by CAC’s sister company Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), which also produced the J-15 – the jets currently in use on the country’s only active aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

Both aerospace firms are subsidiaries of the state-owned giant Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which specialises in designing and developing military aircraft, and were set up to ensure benign competition between manufacturers.

ORAC - what is the current best estimate for the CVA-002 to start working up?

Many thanks!

https://www.defensenews.com/training...eapons-at-sea/

China home-built aircraft carrier tests weapons at sea

BEIJING — China’s Defense Ministry said the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s only entirely home-built aircraft carrier is performing sea trials to test weapons and equipment as well as enhance training of the crew. Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said Friday the exercises were being conducted as planned, apparently unaffected by the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

The Shandong’s commissioning last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the country’s rise as a regional naval power at a time of tensions with the U.S. and others over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

It is the second Chinese aircraft carrier to enter service after the Liaoning, which was originally purchased as a hull from Ukraine and entirely refurbished. Both are based on a Soviet design with a ”ski jump”-style flight deck for takeoffs rather than the flat decks used by much larger U.S. aircraft carriers. It is powered by a conventional, oil-fueled steam turbine power plant, compared to the nuclear fuel used by American carriers and submarines........

Mind you, not sure how they’d get airborne from a carrier with enough fuel to give any away.....

Shenyang J-15s practicing night buddy-buddy AAR...

The J-20 is a big aircraft, 20 meters long, that will be a snug fit for carrier operations.

Very Top Gun(ish), in more senses than one....

You Tube

Chariots of Fire at the start but clearly a co-ordinated effort to raise the profile of the Carrier Force with the Chinese public

Can any of these aircraft launch (or land) carrying a decent payload?

Is it true that they all have very poor eyesight and have to wear glasses? Asking for a friend.

Interesting question. I’m curious about the ski-jump.

I can see how in the low speed/high AUW take-off of a VSTOL type like Harrier/F-35B, the vertical thrust element is usefully augmented by the vertical motion generated by going up the ski jump, giving more time/height for the aircraft to accelerate to the speed needed to transition to wing-borne flight.

However with a conventional type the aircraft clearly needs to achieve flying speed by the time it reaches the end of the deck. If the engine thrust alone can achieve this, I’m not clear what advantage the ski-jump gives, beyond pointing the jet away from the sea. If anything I’d expect it to actually reduce acceleration just when it’s most needed.

It’d be interesting to hear Engines or Mogwi’s thoughts on this.

The current PLA Navy carriers use STOBAR - launching with a ski ramp to cause an upward trajectory and increased angle of attack. It uses a lot of the deck - and so does the arrested recovery.

When the Soviets decided to build big carriers in the eighties, they decided not to go for a successor to the Yak-38 Forger, as they did not have the technology to compete with the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine. They also decided that developing a Steam Catapult would take too long.

It offers none of the advantages of vertical landing, reduces payload compared to either V/STOL or catapult launch, and uses a lot of deck.

Am I missing something? I see ne evidence of a Steam or ELMS type catapult. So just a ski jump assisted take off.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/20...ting-facility/

Stealth fighter mock-up appears at China’s aircraft carrier testing facility

MELBOURNE, Australia — China is stepping up its aircraft carrier program on all fronts with the emergence of a stealth fighter mock-up at a naval test facility, suggesting that China intends to operate the type on its ships.

Meanwhile, the construction of China’s third aircraft carrier is making steady progress, while a state media news clip shows carrier-borne fighters have been based at a naval air base, which has been geolocated to a naval air base in Hainan Island bordering the South China Sea.

The latter will be one of the final pieces to the jigsaw for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, to base its second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, and its associated air wing at Hainan, the main base of its South Sea Fleet……

"geolocated" ???????????????????

Do they mean relocated?

No, they mean that metadata and other means - such as using satellite photos and videos to triangulate landmarks in photos - has been used to pinpoint the location of the airfield from the published photos.

https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/geolocation/

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources...o-geolocation/

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources...-verification/

"However with a conventional type the aircraft clearly needs to achieve flying speed by the time it reaches the end of the deck. If the engine thrust alone can achieve this, I’m not clear what advantage the ski-jump gives, beyond pointing the jet away from the sea. If anything I’d expect it to actually reduce acceleration just when it’s most needed.

It’d be interesting to hear Engines or Mogwi’s thoughts on this."

There is a small advantage in launching conventional aircraft from a ramp because the first few seconds of flight are partially ballistic, giving the aircraft time to accelerate to above stalling speed. Vectored thrust gives a much greater advantage as the aircraft is "covered 1/3 in anti-gravity paint" as JF used to explain. This meant that the Jumping Bean could exit the ramp around 90 kts, with a stall speed of c160 kts. This obviously requires the ability to control the aircraft at extremely low IAS.

I believe that our American cousins have done trials with F 18s in the past but I haven't seen any data. There is also a limiting top speed for using a ramp because of nose leg compression - and extension!

Mog