Double Vision: Making Sense of China’s Second ‘Stealth’ Fighter Prototype

 

In June, Internet photographs and video clips of a heavily-wrapped aircraft being transported by truck appeared. Coupled with previous reports of a J-31 program, this suggests that direct competition has been introduced between CAC and SAC, obviating earlier geographic division of labor that insulated military aviation manufacturers.  

By Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins 

 In the span of a week, Chinese government vessels have been dispatched to waters near the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, anti-Japanese riots have erupted in major Chinese cities — and a new highly-prestigious piece of military hardware has been unveiled.

As if U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta didn’t have enough to contend with on his current China visit, photos leaked online on Sunday suggest Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) is making substantial progress on a stealth aircraft prototype, which Chinese netizens and foreign analysts have variously dubbed the “J-21,” “J-31,” and “F60”—a possible future export variant. SAC itself seems to have painted a “31001” designation on the aircraft. (For purposes of consistency, we will henceforth refer to the aircraft as the “J-31.”) The timing of the photo release echoes the events surrounding former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ January 2011 visit to China, when the PLA conducted a surprise test flight of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC)’s J-20 late-generation strike fighter prototype.

Read more here:   http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime