The mooring test of the Fujian ship is underway, and a "mysterious fighter" has appeared on the full-scale test platform of a domestic aircraft carrier, does this mean that the Fujian ship is about to usher in the third "swordsman"?Recently, China's second domestically built aircraft carrier Fujian has entered the mooring test stage, and has successfully completed the "static load" ejection test before, and the world's attention is focused on the Fujian hull. However, the latest news came that a "mysterious fighter" had been spotted somewhere. Now let's take a look at it, will this fighter plane board the Fujian ship?And why did the U.S. Navy panic so much when they learned of this?(* The equipment of the suspected Attack-11 stealth drone appeared on the aircraft carrier's full-scale test platform). The latest fighter plane has appeared?It looks like a fifth-generation aircraft. Compared with the cliché catapult test, people are more concerned about which carrier-based aircraft the Fujian will carry in the future, because this is directly related to the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier. Recently, there has been exciting news. Footage circulated on social networks shows the appearance of a "mysterious" fighter on the full-scale test platform of a domestic aircraft carrier. Based on its appearance, it is likely that this fighter is the rumored Attack-11.
Attack-11 is a stealth drone developed by China, which was hailed as a "loyal wingman" as soon as it was unveiled, and more importantly, its level even surpassed that of the United States, which originally proposed the concept. In recent years, all fifth-generation aircraft countries have been building a new type of equipment called "loyal wingman". Elon Musk believes that the rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles, coupled with the improvement of space-based Starlink, manned fighters are gradually being phased out, and high-end large multi-functional UAVs will bring transformative opportunities for future air combat. For example, the American "Valkyrie" XQ-59A and the Russian "Hunter" UAV S-70 are all new equipment based on the positioning of "loyal wingmen". As for China's Attack-11, the data shows that a fifth-generation aircraft can control at least several Attack-11s, and it can not only fight independently but also in coordination with fifth-generation aircraft, carry various types of ammunition, and simultaneously carry out sea-domination, ground-to-sea, and sea-to-sea strike missions. Especially important is the fact that the Attack-11 is in no way inferior to the fifth-generation aircraft in terms of stealth capabilities, so many consider it the enigmatic embodiment of the "stealth strategic bomber". (*The J-35 is widely regarded as one of the main carrier-based aircraft of the Fujian ship in the future). The third musketeer in the air and the right-hand man of the J-35.
The location of the debut of the Chinese-developed Attack-11 is extremely special, and this needs to be emphasized. In order to promote the development of aircraft carriers, China has deliberately built a cement simulated aircraft carrier, which is more than 300 meters long (military fans jokingly call it the "aircraft carrier building"), aiming to evaluate the application of aircraft, such as the flexible maneuverability of carrier-based aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Normally, aircraft that have been shown on this carrier's full-scale test platform will soon be on board a real carrier. In 2021, the FC-31 fighter appeared on the aircraft carrier test platform in the form of a full-scale model, and the J-35 and Air Police-600 were also tested on this platform. Therefore, the appearance of the Attack-11 may well indicate that it will become the third "Swordsman" in our country, effectively enhancing the combat capabilities of the aircraft carrier, thanks to its unmanned combat characteristics and stealth advantages. The core system of the PLA Air Force has "three musketeers", which are fifth-generation aircraft, J-16 and J-16D, and J-10C. Similarly, the naval system also has a "three musketeers", if the attack-11 can really board the Fujian ship, then it will form the best partner with the J-35 and J-15D, and further enhance the combat capability of the PLA Navy.
Once the electromagnetic catapult is put into service, the Attack-11 is bound to achieve greater combat efficiency when performing missions. This is of great significance for our country to safeguard maritime rights and interests and strategic deterrence (**X-47B stealth drone was ejected and took off on the USS Bush, but the project was later canceled). China not only surpasses the United States in terms of "loyal wingman", but even does a better job than the United States in the development of the "stealth drone ship-to-ship combat mode". More precisely, what the United States could not achieve, China preemptively achieved. The next real catch-up for the United States will be China. The X-47B is the world's first stealth unmanned fighter jointly developed by the U.S. Air Force and Navy that can be used by both land-based and aircraft carriers, and it completed a series of shipborne tests on the deck of the USS George Bush as early as 2013. According to the expectations of the US military, this fighter will have a high degree of air combat superiority, which can meet the needs of joint operations of the Navy and Air Force, and at the same time be able to conduct long-range flights, and its range is twice that of the F-35 fifth-generation aircraft. In actual combat, it can play such tasks as suppressing anti-aircraft firepower, conducting electronic warfare attacks, and carrying out aerial reconnaissance.
The planned project of the US Navy was canceled due to technical problems, and now they are working on the development of an unmanned tanker to replace the previously planned stealth drone. In short, once the Chinese Attack-11 drone successfully passes the ejection test and is on board the Fujian, China will be the first to have stealth drones to carry out combat missions on ships, which will unsettle the US Navy. In addition, in addition to the Fujian, China also has the Shandong ship, and the Liaoning ship, which is about to complete the refit, which also means that once the Attack-11 is successfully deployed on the Fujian, it will also be able to play a role on other aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. (*The Fujian is China's first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier and will play a key role in connecting the previous and the next). In addition, having three aircraft carriers is just the beginning, and more surprises are yet to come. Experts said that once the Fujian ship is really put into service, China will enter the "three-aircraft carrier era" and is expected to move towards the "four-aircraft carrier" or even "five-aircraft carrier era". As is customary, the aircraft carrier will be divided into three parts, one part will perform combat duty, one part will participate in training, and the last part will go into a state of repair. Such an allocation can greatly guarantee the availability of aircraft carriers.
In short, the Fujian is not the only focus of China's aircraft carrier development, and more surprises await us later. For example, the Fujian ship directly crossed the outfitting and entered the mooring test. This shows that China has accumulated some experience and technology in aircraft carrier construction, and there is no need to stick to many processes in the future. Therefore, the transformation of the Fujian ship will help the development of China's aircraft carriers enter a new stage of exploration. Finally, as far as China's Fujian ship and Attack-11 UAV are concerned, you are welcome to share your views and stories in the comment area.