J-11BS Flanker-L
J-11BS is the tandem twin seater version of J-11B, reportedly under development as the Chinese version of Su-30MK2/3. It is rumored that the letter S stands for Shuangzuo, meaning twin seater in Chinese. For a ground attack mission, it is best to use a two-seater type, especially a heavy fighter like the J-11, which has a long range, plus aerial refueling, how can the average pilot have such good energy, So many flying missions can be done alone. When it comes to the ground attack of heavy fighters, the two-seater type with two pilots is more reliable. This is very obvious on the Su-30MKK, F-15E, and F/A-18E/F. The existence of J-11BS was officially acknowledged by the Chinese government in 2007, and a large model of J-11BS was revealed publicly on 09 June 2007 during the opening ceremony of the new aerospace museum of the Harbin Institute of Technology on the 20-year anniversary of the establishment of its school of astronautics, where it is displayed. Some sources outside China claimed the sucedessful development of J-11BS is one of reasons that China lacked interest in purchasing Su-30MK3, but the Chinese government appears to be cautious. with official reports only claiming that the project is very promising, instead of declaring it is successful already.
When developing the J-11B, Shenyang Aircraft Co Ltd designers completed the J-8IIACT project and mastered the three-axis four-redundancy digital fly-by-wire control system technology. Therefore, they wanted to apply this technology to the J-11B, but the Air Force also proceeded from a prudent perspective and did not agree. In the end, the J-11BS was the first to be equipped with a domestically-made digital fly-by-wire control system. The Air Force’s decision to take the test was correct. The J-11D, as the latest model, must also use a domestic digital fly-by-wire control system.
Photos posted on social media from a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) recruitment video seemed to show a new anti-radiation missile under the wings of a J-11BS fighter jet, signaling that China may have a potent new weapon for hunting enemy radars. In a December 2020 recruitment video by the Chinese air force, military analysts spotted a curious new weapon lurking under the wing of a J-11BS fighter. According to German aviation author and expert Andreas Rupprecht, the “so far unknown” missile is likely an anti-radiation missile, used to target enemy radar systems as part of a mission called Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD).
Rupprecht also noted the photo is the first to show a J-11BS in the new low-visibility paint scheme being slowly implemented by the PLA. The paint not only helps the aircraft to hide visually, but also dampens its radar return as well - an extremely valuable quality for radar-hunting fighters.
When the J-11 is really changed to have an advantage compared with the original Su-27S, it will wait until the J-11BS, the 01 and 02 batches of the J-11B have deviations due to the improvement work, and the empty weight has increased by more than 300 Kg. The strength is the same as that of the 27SK, and the structural life has dropped by 300 hours. The flight control of the J-11B is basically a replica of the 27SK flight control, and the real digital telex flight control will wait until 11BS.
Don't think it's easy to imitate. Engineering personnel all know a concept: "tacit knowledge", which is actually human experience. It is impossible for materials, drawings, equipment, etc. to completely cover all the knowledge related to an aircraft. Even if these things are available in the actual imitation process, there are still many technical problems to be solved.
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