China launches new stealth fighter project

[David Floyd]

UR,

You are assuming the Chinese has no ASW assets, particularly in terms of fixed wing aircraft.

If China wants to put fixed wing ASW aircraft over the Straits of Taiwan, they'll be shot down. If the PLAN sorties with ASW ships, 688is are more than capable of defeating those warships. China does not have enough ASW-capable warships to set up a wide enough net, anyway.

Are you seriously making the claim that the PLAN could defeat the USN in the Straits of Taiwan?

Again, the PLAAF can be directed by ground-based command centres, what would your fighters be directed by? Assuming that the Taiwanese radar installations and command centres will be targeted and destroyed by missiles and Special Forces, now what?

Well, air based radar - the E3A Sentry and the E2C Hawkeye, for starters. Secondly, this assumes that the US would NOT deploy any sort of theater missile defense. I see no reason this would be the case.

How so? The Strait of Taiwan is narrow enough so ground based S-300s can cover it completely.

Yes, and US standoff cruise missiles can target Chinese radar sites from behind Taiwan.

And in any case, the F-22 and F-15 are able to easily outperform ANYTHING the Chinese can put in the air, just on the basis of paper performance alone. When you put training, equipment, maintenance, experience, leadership, etc., into the mix, the USAF is FAR superior to the PLAAF.

IIRC, they got some Russian Mainstays.

The Mainstay is not the equal of the E-3.

That's the question - how? What or who will be directing the US airwings?

US AWACS aircraft operating off carriers and land-based airfields, if it comes down to it. Those aircraft are pretty much invulnerable to the PLAAF, unless you think a PLAAF fighter sweep could get past the Taiwan Straits, over Taiwan, through Taiwanese and US fighter defenses, and be able to find and shoot down these AWACS planes. But I'm not worried - the Soviet Union probably wouldn't have been able to do this over Europe, so why would you think the much inferior PLAAF could?

[Lancer]

The Serbs only got our F117 because they locked a SAM onto its heat sig, not its radar image.

If you shoot enough monkeys into the sky sooner or later one of them will type "King George the Fifth"-From 'On The Beach'-kinda.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


That's why I am wondering why the heck would the PRC want to develop a stealth aircraft. Japan and South Korea could probably detect it, and they are too bloody expensive.

To conquer smaller countries.

[Alinestra Covelia]

So far, Chinese technological advances in aerospace research has been fairly limited - the Shenyang industry itself (no less) has started and aborted somewhere in the region of six or seven aircraft design projects, opting in each case to buy Russian produced aircraft instead.

Right now I don't think China's leadership has any particular practical interest in beefing up their offense. America's forces have proven beyond a doubt that they can project quickly to anywhere around the globe. China's military may be immense, but it is largely obsolete and is unlikely to fulfill any offensive profile anytime soon.

Before you start talking about umbrella terms as "New Cold War" or "Chinese counterweight", bear in mind that the immense amount of trade between China and America automatically precludes any military engagement between the two except under the most dire of circumstances.

China's belligerence towards Taiwan is about as sustained and genuine as American belligerence is towards China. It's produced by the leadership on a half-hearted basis to rattle the nationalism saber, but ultimately both sides know all too well that trade is far too important to sacrifice for the sake of military pride.

Taiwan, China, and America are all held in check by the supreme power of the Invincible Investor - 20th century's true gift to peace.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Alinestra Covelia
So far, Chinese technological advances in aerospace research has been fairly limited - the Shenyang industry itself (no less) has started and aborted somewhere in the region of six or seven aircraft design projects, opting in each case to buy Russian produced aircraft instead.

Not exactly, since there are/were a number of various aircraft designs in production. The idea of buying Russian hardware is to quickly modernise before the native designs can take up the role.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DaShi
To conquer smaller countries.

I must have overestimated your intelligence. Why would they need any stealth aircraft to do that?

[Pekka]

Nah, I'll say Russia has the best aviation knowledge easily. Money is an issue sometimes, but given more time I think some news models of mig or those will be superior to any plane. Maybe not in firepower, but flying capabilities are awesome. I bet they have few projects going on, they don't just like to brag about it too much yet.... but knowledge there is quite top level, if not the best.

[Pekka]

Though I'm not sure about the quality of pilots, since they might not get enough time in the plane, and there haven't been many missions now, except maybe in Chechnya. So it takes its toll.. Finnish pilot and Russian plane would be devostating combination to any fleet .

Not to diss anyone elses pilots and planes of course..

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


I must have overestimated your intelligence. Why would they need any stealth aircraft to do that?

Why did you reply?

[Dinner]

Russian planes tend to be less sophisticated then western planes. Their radars aren't as good, their computers can't track as many targets, they don't use the hi-tech building materials which are being put into planes like the F-22, and they don't have as good of anti-missile defense systems such as the "auto-dodge" F-15s have.

[DaShi]

Or alien technology.

[Sandman]

I suspect the faith that some American posters have in airpower is misplaced.

[DaShi]

And in alien technology.

[Caligastia]

You crack me up DaShi.

[DaShi]

Glad someone appreciates it.