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Military


PLAAF Modernization

The "Century Series" with Chinse characteristics, "20" is a code used for China's new-generation aviation equipment and also implies these equipment's combat capability will be formed around 2020. From J-20 to Y-20 and to Z-20, the continuous appearance of China's "20 series" has shown the world the PLA Air Force's historical breakthroughs in weapon and equipment development and marked that the Chinese aviation industry has entered the "Age 20".

The PLA Air Force has been upgraded in the five years 2012-2017, with the "20" series aircraft. The J-20, a stealth fighter jet independently developed by China, was officially commissioned into military service on 28 September 2017. The Y-20, a versatile plane with a maximum takeoff weight of about 200 tons, is designed to carry cargo and personnel over long distances in hazardous terrain. It officially entered military service in July 2016. On September 2, 2016, PLA Air Force Commander Ma Xiaotian said that China is developing a new generation long-range strategic bomber. Chinese military enthusiasts and analysts call it the H-20, which they believe could match the US B-2 stealth bomber. The Z-20 utility helicopter, which China considers a match for the UH-60 Blackhawk, is also undergoing tests in plateau regions in China.

The People Liberation Army Air Force’s (PLAAF) ongoing modernization is taking place at a rate unprecedented in history. By the dawn of the new century the PLA had approximately 3,000 fighter and ground attack aircraft, but only about 100 were considered modern, 3rd generation [by Chinese reckoning, 4th-generation by the Russian scheme] fighters. By the year 2011, China had 1,400 fighter and ground attack aircraft, and about 300 were of modern vintage. By comparison, not only did the United States have more than twice as many such combat aircraft, all 3,700 American fighter and ground attack aircraft were of modern design. Nuff said.

Development and acquisition efforts have been aimed primarily at defeating the regional air forces, defending against aircraft at long ranges from China's coast, defeating high-value air assets, denying U.S. naval operations, and striking other targets such as airbases and air defense sites. A force-wide modernization focused on the acquisition of advanced systems, improved training realism, new tactics to complement modern technology, and technically proficient personnel is intended to improve combat capability over the next decade and help to extend operations farther beyond land and sea borders. By the end of the decade, China is expected to have a more robust fleet of 4th generation fighters augmented by modern missiles, electronic countermeasures, and several AWACS-type aircraft. Although PRC pilot capabilities will remain poor by Western standards, improvements across the board will increase their potential.

From 26-29 January 2004, President Hu Jintao paid an official state visit to France. While in Paris, Hu increased support for the repeal of 15-year-old European bans on weapons sales to China (imposed after the Tiananmen Square incident). China was eager to acquire advanced weaponry to fulfill force modernization goals in order to surpass Taiwanese and regional capabilities as well as to create a military whose strength is commensurate with the economic and political power emanating from Beijing. A lifting of the ban should not be expected in the near term, though, as U.S. pressure and discord among EU nations will cause delay.

As of mid-2011, although Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign affairs chief, had recommended reform of Europe's embargo on selling arms to China, the UK remained firmly opposed. "The current arms embargo is a major impediment for developing stronger EU-China co-operation on foreign policy and security matters. The EU should assess its practical implication and design a way forward," she said in a 19-page strategy paper preented at the EU summit in Brussels on Friday morning (17 December 2010).

By the year 2010 PLAAF modernization had not proceeded with nearly the rapidity that might have been anticipated a decade earlier. The total number of fighters appeared to have stabilized at about 1,100 aircraft, following the precipitous plunge from 4,000 aircraft in 1995 to 1,100 in 2003, as the PLAAF rid itself of thousands of entirely obsolete aircraft. Bomber inventories demonstrated a similar trend, following the retirement of the elderly H-5 [Il-18] inventory.

Despite reports and rumors, no new bomber has emerged to replace the aging H-6, which has to the contrary resumed production around the year 2006, after about a 15 year gap. As of mid-2011 a rumored stealthy attack aircraft remained just a rumor, and non-stealthy attack aircraft modernization had been only a fraction of what might have been anticipated five or ten years earlier. Rather than hundreds of J-11 / Su-30MKK and JH-7 aircraft [as many 350 of the former and 150 of the later], fewer than 100 of the former and 75 of the later was in service. The elderly but often modernized Q-5 Fantan soldiered on in significant numbers, though its complete elimination by 2010 might have been anticipated.

The long-rumored J-20 stealth fighter finally made a public appearance at the end of 2010, but was not expected to enter service until after the year 2020. Amazingly, the J-7G Fishbed, the latest derivative of the MiG-21, remains in production, with as many as 96 were in PLAAF service by the end of 2010. In the USSR this aircraft was manufactured between the late 1950s and the middle 1970s. Production of the American F-4 Phantom II, the MiG-21's long-time adversary in Vietnam and the Middle East, ended in 1979, and the last Phantom was withdrawn from service in the United States in 1996. Production of the more advanced J-8 appears to have ended, with slightly more than 250 examples entering service by 2010, fewer than half the number that might have been anticipated a decade earlier. The J-10 [China's equivalent of the American F-16] has maintained a brisk production pace, with about two dozen entering service each year.

In January 2004 the inevitable Richard D. Fisher wrote that " By 2005 to 2006 the PLA could have about 400 Sukhoi fighters of the Su-27SK, Su-27UBK, Su-30MKK, Su-30MKK2 and J-11 versions. ... the PLA is on its way to creating the largest fleet of Sukhoi Su-27/30 fighters in the world. By 2006 it at least possible that the PLAAF will have about 50 Su-27SKs, 42 Su-27UBKs, about 116 Su30MKK/MKK2s, and as many as 200 J-11s. .... But when considering a second co-production contract, by 2010 the total number of Sukhois in the PLA could grow by another one to two hundred. This compares to about 400 credited to the Russian Air Force, of which a much smaller number could be considered operational."

By the year 2011 China was the operator of the world's second largest fleet of Flankers, with about 73 Su-30MKK and 24 J-11B attack aircraft, 43 Su-17SK and 95 J-11A fighters, 40 Su-27UBK trainers in service with the PLAAF [for a total of 275], and at least 24 in service with the PLAN, for a grand total of about 300 airframes. Production of the J-11B attack aircraft appeared to be running at about 6 per year, while the J-11A fighter production rate appeared to be a bit less than 24 per year. If this production continues unabated, but the year 2020 China could operate as many as 600 Flanker variants.

The PLAAF on a path towards being upgraded for operating well beyond China's borders. Development of the Y-XX and C-919 transport aircraft for strategic airlift are indicators in this direction. The maiden flight of China's first large transporter aircraft may come as soon as 2012, The large passenger aircraft C919, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, is scheduled to make its median flight in 2014. The large transporters will be capable of holding oversized payloads and taking off from temporary runways, greatly enhancing the air force's power project capability. It would also prove to be an invaluable asset for civil applications, such as disaster relief.

Peter W. Singer and Jeffrey Lin reported 02 April 2014 in their “Eastern Arsenal” blog that China would soon receive three IL-78 “Midas” tankers from Russia. China originally purchased eight tankers from Russia in 2005, but the deal “has been on hold for nearly a decade due to Russian inability to source new airframes.” The tankers had been refurbished from Ukrainian Air Force surplus. The acquisition “will give China the ability to refuel aircraft such as the Su-30 strike fighters and KJ-2000 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) system during extended missions over disputed maritime areas.”

As pf the end of 2024, Western speculation suggested:


    Chengdu AC:
  1. J-36/J-XDC manned fighter (first flight 26/12/2024)
  2. Loyal wingman UCAV (WIP, first flight unknown)
    Shenyang AC:
  3. Loyal wingman UCAV (first flight 20/12/2024 or 22/12/2024)
  4. J-XDS manned fighter (first flight within next few days)
  5. sighting of unknown flying-wing U(C)AV (RQ-180-counterpart ?)
    Xi'an AC:
  6. KJ-3000 4th-gen AEW&C aircraft (first flight 29/11/2024)
  7. H-20 manned bomber (WIP, first flight before Zhuhai 2026)
  • Progress in modeling and control of probe-and-drogue autonomous aerial refueling Jinrui REN & Quan QUAN -- Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, Volume 37, Issue 5, May 2024, Pages 6-26
  • Unmanned autonomous air-to-air refueling intelligent docking technology Peng LIN, Yakun HE, & Yuanze CHEN Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, Volume 37, Issue 5, May 2024, Pages 1-5 By refueling aircraft while they are in flight, aerial refueling is an efficient technique to extend their endurance and range. Unmanned autonomous Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR) capability is the key guarantee to support the distant-field, high-intensity and durable operations of the penetration counterair combat system. In the future, the long-range unmanned reconnaissance and attack platform can reach the maximum flight range requirement through AAR. At present, large transport aircraft platforms in China are still equipped with probe-and-drogue systems, and the refueling mode is gradually changing from manned to unmanned autonomous operation. Statistics from the UK have shown that in order to train pilots who have no aerial refueling experience to be fully competent for refueling tasks, at least 40 docking training missions are required, with the tanker and the receiver flying together for about 8 hours. The use of actual equipment to train refuelers requires the cooperation of the tanker and the receiver, and an 8-hour sortie for a large aircraft such as the KC-135 costs more than $49,000, not including the cost of using the receiver. Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) is anticipated to be used to complete aerial refueling for unmanned aircraft. There are three aerial refueling methods: the Probe-and-Drogue Refueling (PDR) refueling method, the flying-boom refueling method, and the boom-drogue-adapter refueling method. When refueling numerous aircraft, PDR is favored if small aircraft predominate in the refueling process because small aircraft have lower oil transfer rate requirements, and PDR can accomplish multi-point refueling. On the contrary, if large aircraft outnumber small aircraft in the refueling process, flying-boom refueling may be chosen instead. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have difficulty in performing AR, which is primarily carried out by the receiver/tanker pilot in manned aircraft. Realizing Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) is important for reducing the pilots’ pressure of performing AR and achieving the AR of UAVs while maintaining high safety, precision, and efficiency. The long history of air-to-air refueling has demonstrated an undeniable benefit to aviation. In recent years, the emergence of uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) has opened a new realm for the application of air-to-air refueling. In developing techniques for air-to-air refueling of UAVs, new missions and capabilities are expected to become available, such as the ability of a UAV to remain on station for days or weeks at a time. One of the first steps toward automated air-to-air refueling was taken by the Autonomous Formation Flight (AFF) program; a NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) (Edwards, California) program aimed at automating relative navigation to maintain formation flight for the purpose of reducing fuel consumption. This program demonstrated a lateral and vertical station-keeping capability in straight-line trajectories. On May 9th, 2017, Airbus Defense and Space successfully completed the first-ever AAR demonstration between a fighter aircraft and a tanker’s flying boom. Airbus began developing the A3R [Automatic Air-to-Air Refuelling] system in 2016 and installed it on the A310 verification aircraft for testing. After the technology was proven to be mature, it was transplanted to the A330MRTT. In May 2017, the A310 verification aircraft began to conduct dry docking (docking but no oil transfer) tests with the F-16 fighter jets. The PDR approach is the most challenging of the three, because the flexible hose-drogue assembly has fast dynamics and is susceptible to various kinds of winds, which makes the probe docking with the drogue difficult. PDR is divided into four phases, namely the rendezvous phase, joining phase, refueling phase, and reform phase, with the refueling phase being the most crucial. The probe-and-drogue refueling equipment is simple, light, and easy-to-install. A hose-drogue pod can be added to any aircraft with enough payload capacity, including fighters, large transport aircraft, and UAVs. The pod releases a hose with a drogue at the end, in which the hose length should match the tanker length for safety considerations. For manned aircraft, the probe is typically placed to the side of the cockpit for clear pilots’ visibility, but for UAVs, it is generally placed in front of the receiver nose. The tanker frequently maintains level flight while moving forward during the preparation phase of refueling and releases a hose in the refueling region. The receiver then moves towards the tanker and places its probe into the drogue. The aerial docking operation is finished once the mechanical self-locking mechanism on the drogue locks the drogue and the probe together. The receiver must then maintain its position in relation to the tanker until refueling is complete. Compared to the amount of flight research dedicated to the US Air Force flying boom refueling method, only a small amount of testing had been performed in the USA using the hose-and-drogue refueling method, which is considerably more difficult than the boom receptacle refueling technique. Preliminary work toward the goal of autonomous hose-and-drogue air-to-air refueling was performed at DFRC to characterize the dynamics of the hose-and-drogue system. Six capture attempts were performed on the last flight, resulting in two successful drogue captures and four system-declared misses. In all of the declared misses, the system safely retreated from the drogue in a controlled and predictable manner to prohibit undesired contact between the drogue and the receiver aircraft. The X-47B successfully conducted the first ever Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) of an unmanned aircraft 22 April 2015, completing the final test objective under the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System demonstration program. During the test, the X-47B exchanged refueling messages with a government-designed Refueling Interface System (RIS) aboard the tanker. The aircraft autonomously maneuvered its fixed refueling probe into the tanker's drogue, also known as the basket, the same way a Navy pilot would refuel a manned aircraft. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has introduced a stealth, optionally manned/unmanned aerial refueling tanker concept design. The design is in line with the US Air Force's Next Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) program, which is part of the broader Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aviation system and aims to meet changing operational needs as the Air Force refines its "system of systems" requirements. However, budget constraints have posed a challenge to achieving modernization goals, including this new refueling capability. The concept tanker features a swept wing layout with an inclined vertical tail and stealth elements such as a lower chord and serrated cover that wraps around the fuselage. There is a shrouded tail nozzle with a serrated edge at the rear of the fuselage, which may help reduce radar and infrared detection capabilities. In manned platforms, aerial refueling is a challenging maneuver because of the precision required by the pilot to engage the basket. Adding an autonomous functionality creates another layer of complexity. This testing helps solidify the concept that future unmanned aircraft can perform standard missions like aerial refueling and operate seamlessly with manned aircraft



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