On January 11, 2011, on the same day that U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates arrived in Beijing, China's latest fighter J-20 soared into the sky, announcing that China has entered the world's most advanced fighter club.
However, since the J-20 is the most advanced and complex fighter in China, its production and installation will take time. Therefore, in 2016, a batch of Russian-made Su-35 fighters flew into China from the north, becoming the last fighter deal between China and Russia so far.
So why is Russia willing to export the most advanced Su-35 fighter to China, and how does this aircraft partner with the J-20 of our army?
The first flight of the J-20 in 202011 not only fascinated the majority of military fans, but also a monument in the history of China's fighter development.
After all, it was very difficult for our country to develop even a third-generation aircraft before, and almost no one believed that it would have a fourth-generation aircraft comparable to the F-22 so soon.
This indicates that the technological strength of China's aviation industry has changed from what it used to be, and the gap with the United States has been greatly narrowed.
Before the J-20, the only fighters known to the world were the American F-22, F-35, and the T-50, the predecessor of the Russian Su-57.
After the F-15 and -16 were installed in the 80s of the last century, the United States began to plan a new generation of fighter jets. With the help of decades of investment during the Cold War, the United States first clicked on the technology tree of stealth aircraft.
F22 fighter.
In Qian Xuesen's words, the significance of the advent of ** technology is equivalent to that of the atomic bomb [1].
The United States, through the production and actual combat of the F-117 and B-2, has become the only country in the world that has completely mastered the technology of stealth aircraft. In addition, the United States has the world's first-class aero-engine technology and state-of-the-art avionics technology.
It is precisely because the United States has spared no expense in piling up new technology that the F-22 has been in a state of solitude and defeat since its first flight. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's national power plummeted, and at the same time, a comparison of the F-22 also found that the MiG-1, which was originally scheduled to be in charge of the MiG Design BureauThe 44 scheme is completely unworkable.
As a result, Russia had to ask the Sukhoi Design Bureau to repeatedly improve on the basis of the Su-27 and at the same time study radar technology from scratch.
So when many people saw the T-50, they ridiculed it as nothing more than a flattened Su-27.
Su-27The Soviet and Russian aviation industries, which were once the only ones that could compete with the United States, were so difficult, not to mention that China could only rely on copying MiG fighters for a long time.
In July 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates threatened that China would not be able to develop the best aircraft within 10 years, and the gap would further widen by 2025Successfully persuaded Congress to shut down the F-22 production line.
However, to the surprise of the Americans, China's research on advanced fighter theory has greatly exceeded the level of equipment.
As early as the 80s of the last century, when the J-8 was not officially put into service, our army began to use the mature J-7 fighter to test radar technology.
Gates. In 1997, while developing the third-generation fighter J-10, Song Wencong, Yang Wei and other aviation experts also began to plan the next generation of fighters.
Fortunately, they did not copy the ideas of the Russian aviation industry in the same period, but benchmarked the research and development of the United States for the most advanced technology everywhere. Based on the current situation of weak aero engine technology in China, the bold use of canard wing layout and new air intake channels and other methods to achieve targeted development of strengths and avoid weaknesses.
At the same time, we should also note that after 1991, with the military cooperation between China and Russia, China's aviation industry overcame a series of obstacles from second-generation aircraft to third-generation aircraft. China introduced the Su-27 production line, and only then did it have the domestic J-11;As well as its carrier-based model J-15, and the J-16 with enhanced ground combat capabilities.
At the same time, our first workers also got a thorough understanding of the advanced aviation materials of Russia at that time, and also gained valuable experience in the manufacture and maintenance of third-generation fighters. The introduction of the AL-31F engine has also solved the most headache of heart disease for China's new generation of fighters.
Sino-Russian military cooperation.
In 2000, after Putin was elected as the new leader of Russia, he vigorously rectified the chaotic economic situation in the countryCoupled with the international oil price at that time, Russia was finally able to make up for the arrears of military spending for many years.
At the same time, Putin vigorously promoted national defense construction, and many previously half-dead scientific research projects were re-funded.
Putin also attaches importance to military and technological cooperation with China, thus providing assistance for the development of new fighters in China.
Under all kinds of powerful conditions, China's aviation experts finally made the J-20 achieve the overall performance of the J-20 when the engine performance lagged significantly behind the F-22.
However, the J-10 fighter was officially put into service in 2006 and is already considered to represent the highest level of China's aviation industry.
Putin took office. For example, when Professor Zhang Zhaozhong participated in a TV program, he said that China's next-generation new fighter is just a J-10 modification.
Therefore, the suddenness of the J-20 in 2011, no matter how you look at it, is somewhat aimed at Obama's "return to the Asia-Pacific" strategy at that time, deliberately giving the American hawks who despise China's strength a "dismount".
That is to say, although the J-20 has completed its first flight, there must be a lot of technical imperfections. It can only prove that its basic aerodynamic design is qualified, and there are still a large number of details that need to be modified.
With China's national strength, it is impossible to mass-produce such an imperfect product, and a large number of test flights are needed to find problems in order to improve.
However, in the period after 2012, Japan's right wing was very rampant, and China urgently needed a large number of new fighters in the face of provocations from the United States and Japan in the East China Sea, but the J-20 was still far from being officially put into service.
The J-20 is in China when the old and new fighters are in short supply and urgently need transitional modelsPutin, who regained Russia's lead in 2013, proposed to export the latest Su-35 fighter jets to China. The main reason why Putin made such a proposal is that after the Beijing Olympics, China's comprehensive national strength has reached a new level.
In contrast, Russia's economy has improved under Putin's leadership, but it is overly dependent on oil and gas exports. Under such circumstances, it is very important to obtain valuable funds from arms sales to China and at the same time to bring Sino-Russian relations closer.
In view of the fact that at that time our army still had a considerable number of Su-27 and Su-30 in service, imported Su-35 could quickly form combat effectiveness. And at that time, the overall state of the Russian economy was good, and Putin could convince his colleagues that Russia would soon develop a new fighter jet, so the export of the Su-35 would not cause a leak of sensitive equipment.
China and Russia** soon signed a major arms sales framework agreement, and China officially purchased 24 Su-35 fighter jets from Russia [2].
On December 25, 2016, the first batch of four Su-35 fighters joined the Chinese Air Force, which once became one of the important military news in 2016.
Su-35 fighter.
It is known that the Su-27 represents the highest technological level of its aviation industry before the collapse of the USSR.
But what is little known is that in 1987, when the Su-27 was just entering service, its designers were already aiming at the electronic equipment of the aircraft;Having to fully rely on the weakness of the support of the air defense system when fighting, it was proposed to develop a new fighter codenamed Su-30 using the two-seater Su-27UB.
But at the beginning of the project, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a collapse in Russia's national power. This is reflected in the field of fighter aircraft research that funds have shrunk sharply and there has been a massive loss of technical personnel.
Russian experts admit that if it were not for China's massive imports of Su-27 series fighters in the 90s, it is unknown whether this model would be maintained.
The core requirement of the Sukhoi Design Bureau for the Su-30 was to add a backseat radar operator so that it could play a more powerful radar role.
Su-30 fighter.
However, in view of the serious economic difficulties encountered at that time, the Su-27 had to be gradually improved, so we saw the appearance of several versions of the Su-30 in the 90s of the last century. In order to enhance maneuverability, the Su-30MKI that India can buy is equipped with both front wings and engine vector nozzles.
The Su-30MKK sold to China adds the Su-24's ground fire control system, but its radar also greatly enhances its anti-aircraft combat capabilities.
Through the feedback of the use of the Su-30 by the Chinese and Indian air forces and the research and development of related subsystems by the Russian military industry after the new century, the Sukhoi Design Bureau finally launched the ultimate improved Su-35.
Through the use of more advanced avionics developed for the new generation of fighters, specialized radar operators were eliminated, and useless front wings were also eliminated.
The 117S engine is lighter in weight and has a ternary vector nozzle by using composite materialsWith a detection range of more than 400 kilometers, the Snow Leopard E-type phased array radar truly surpasses the high performance of the Su-27.
Su-27 fighter.
In fact, it is not difficult to develop the Su-35 and even more advanced fighters at the level of technology in the Soviet era. It was the collapse of the Russian economy in the 90s that allowed the project to be dragged on for almost a decade.
Although Putin has been vigorously promoting Russia's export to earn foreign exchange, he also has to face the fact that the new model has been delayed for a long time, so that the export market has been seized by a large number of European and American fighters.
Therefore, Putin sells the Su-35 to China, and he also wants to use China as a platform to show the superior performance of the Su-35 to the world and prepare for exporting to more countries.
In 2014, the Su-35 fighter was officially put into service with the Russian army, and Russia suffered economic difficulties due to Western sanctions due to the Crimea issue. Seeing that the Russian Air Force cannot afford to buy Su-35s in large quantities, Putin is determined to prioritize the export of advanced fighter jets.
Fortunately, with the efforts of China and Russia, the introduction of the Su-35 went very smoothly.
It will be fully delivered in 2018 and officially carry out the relevant tasks of our army.
Su-35 fighter.
It can be said that the Su-35, in addition to not having the best capabilities, can also be regarded as the pinnacle of the current Russian fighter. At present, the US Air Force still retains the original F-15 and other fighters, and it is naturally impossible for our military to achieve full J-20 in a short period of time.
Although the J-20 has a certain technical advantage over enemy fighters, including the F-35, it is currently seriously insufficient in number. If the J-20 is to be dispatched for any combat mission, it is too extravagant for the current Chinese Air Force.
Since the J-20, a good steel, is to be used on the blade, the less important combat mission is still handed over to the third-generation aircraft. But it is clear that at present the comprehensive performance of the J-11 has lagged behind, and the improvement potential of the J-10 is already small.
Equipping the Su-35 in such a short period of time is of great importance to the rapid formation of new combat strength of our air force and the maintenance of the security of China's airspace.
Moreover, the Su-35's radar and engine subsystems still have their technical advantages, and after their introduction, they provide a good reference for China to develop the same type of equipment.
Airspace security. Of course, some people will wonder if the Su-35 will fight together with the J-20 to achieve a high and low match?
This is almost impossible. Because the biggest technical advantage of the aircraft is that it can evade enemy radar, the US F-22 is basically alone in actual combat.
But once it is combined with the Su-35 fighter, can't the enemy's radar predict the trace of the J-20 when it discovers the Su-35?
At present, the exercises of our military and the US military have proved that only electronic warfare aircraft can fight together with the best fighters, which also shows that the J-20 will inevitably subvert the existing air combat mode [3] .
After all 24 Su-35s of the J-20 were installed in the Chinese Air Force, Russia repeatedly hoped that China would buy fighter jets again.
But to the great disappointment of Putin and the Russian Air Force, the Su-57 fighter, which was once thought to be able to compete with the F-22, has become a failure that is only slightly stronger than the Su-35. Its overall performance, especially the radar stealth capability and the J-20, has formed a generation gap, and the Chinese Air Force is no longer interested.
Many people will wonder how the Russian aviation industry base, which has been surpassing China for decades, can such a "sandwich" as the Su-57 appear in the new century?
In fact, this is due to the fact that China has become more powerful than its predecessors in a decade or so, and it is also due to Russia's own problems after the collapse of the Soviet Union. For example, before the T-50 project, the Sukhoi Design Bureau worked on a technical verification machine codenamed S-47.
Air force. Some aviation experts believe that if the S-47's fuselage is matched with F-22-like wings to develop a new fighter, it will greatly surpass the current Su-57 in at least in terms of radar stealth performance. However, due to the lack of funds to study radar stealth, coupled with the serious aging of talents.
In the end, under the pressure of schedule and cost, those who followed the Su-27 technical route in the Sukhoi Design Bureau prevailed, turning the Su-57 into a Su-27 with partial stealth performance.
At the same time, we should also note that during Putin's 20 years in power, Sino-Russian relations have quietly changed.
In 2000, China's comprehensive national strength was not stronger than that of Russia, and many technological fields still relied on cooperation with Russia. But after 2014, China's high-tech breakthroughs exploded, and many of Russia's previously high-hoped, projects were canceled.
Even if China and Russia still need to huddle together for warmth, there is no need for China to buy Russian-made aircraft.
Putin. It has been more than 5 years since the Su-35 was installed, but it is rarely mentioned in military news. Thinking of the enthusiasm when equipping the Su-27 in those years, one can't help but feel that thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi.
Before 2000, China was generally considered to lack the ability to independently develop fighter jets, and could only be imitated and improved on the basis of the MiG series. But in fact, from the beginning of the J-9 project, China's aviation people have firmly embarked on the road of independent research and development.
On the contrary, because of the sharp decline in Russia's national strength, units, including the Sukhoi Design Bureau, can only eat their old capital. Therefore, we have to sigh at the strength of the Soviet Union back then, and we must praise the efforts of relevant personnel in our country.
Now that China has achieved technological overtaking, it is enough to prove that China's development path is bright.