The 2024 Saudi World Defense Exhibition is being held in Riyadh, as an old friend, China's aviation industry has made the best of its products, including the J-10 performance aircraft that arrived by a direct flight of 4,000 kilometers, as well as the JF-17 "Thunder" fighter, the FC-31 "Falcon"** fighter, as well as the Y-20 strategic transport aircraft, the L-15 "Falcon" higher education aircraft, the J-7E fighter-bomber, etc. Looking at the world, there are few countries that can provide these models in the whole system, especially the FC-31 "Falcon" has become the world's second fifth-generation aircraft to be sold abroad, compared with the F-35 with a unit price of more than 200 million US dollars, and the increasingly mature "Falcon" is breaking the monopoly.
J-10 long-range direct exhibition.
The FC-31 and J-7 were exhibited in the same frame.
As a top aviation power, the United States has long been world-class in the development of fighter planes by virtue of its advanced aviation technology and industrial base. Especially in the field of fighters, starting from the first generation of fighters F-117 "Nighthawk" in the 80s of the last century, to the second generation of F-22 and F-35 fighters, the level of stealth design is getting higher and higher, and it has once again become the first echelon in the world. Even if it couldn't find an opponent for a long time, the F-22 fighter cut a lot of equipment in one go, and then used the F-35, which has a lower level of performance, to carry out multinational cooperation, collect money from various countries to develop and sell it to them.
At present, there are not many countries that can enjoy the benefits of F-35, mainly close allies with the United States, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Norway, Australia, etc., and of course, South Korea, Japan, Israel. Taking the F-35A as an example, the United States' own purchase price is 77.9 million US dollars, which has not yet been equipped with an engine, and if foreign users buy it, it will basically cost 200 million US dollars, and it can be doubled if it is not good in India. If you want to buy the F-35, you have to look at the face of the Americans, for example, Turkey, which participated in it very early, was kicked out of the project because it insisted on buying the S400 air defense system, and the final investment of $1.4 billion in research and development funds was wasted, and the F-35 that had been built was detained and had to bear the cost of storage.
In the final analysis, due to the particularity of the fifth-generation aircraft, the United States is currently monopolizing the operation of the world, and if it wants to upgrade its own fighter system to deal with modern warfare, it is difficult to have the opportunity to obtain it except to hug the thigh of the United States. With the introduction of the FC-31 "Falcon" to the military market, the situation has changed, and in 2015 it appeared as a model for the first time at the Dubai Airshow, although it is not yet mature, but has already provided a new opportunity for the market. Therefore, after the public appearance, the countries reacted fiercely, and Canadian netizens commented that the American-made F-35 is a single-engine fighter with poor reliability, and the FC-31 is a twin-engine medium-sized aircraft with greater potential, and if China sells it to $20 million a piece, maybe the F-35 will be wiped out.
I can't help but say that these netizens still have a little eyesight, the FC-31 "Falcon Eagle" division is famous and belongs to Shen Fei's high-quality products, although the performance is not as good as the J-20, but at least it can be matched with high and low, and the relationship between F-22 and F-35 is almost the same. At the beginning of the design, it was clear that the positioning of one aircraft and multiple types, including the Air Force's own use, export sales, and the ship to become a carrier-based aircraft, J-35 carrier-based aircraft has become a reality, and the J-31 Air Force self-use model should be about the same, as for export sales, the simplest as long as it is downgraded. With the J-10CE** to Pakistan about 100 million US dollars in unit price reference (supporting engines and 12 PL-15E missiles), the unit price of the bare metal will basically not be less than 100 million US dollars, compared with the F-35 still has a certain advantage (twin engines).
FC-31 at the Dubai Airshow
FC-31 at the air show
One machine with multiple types. The main reason why American products sell well is that they have been at the top of the food chain for a long time, and there are no competitors at the same level, coupled with political factors, and buyers have almost no choice. However, with the emergence of J-20 and FC-31** fighters, the two sides have been pulled to a line in terms of performance, and the FC-31 "Falcon Eagle" is facing tremendous pressure on the F-35. At the beginning of January this year, the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force said that the foundation for the purchase of FC-31 "Eagle Eagle" fighter has been laid, and the fighter will become part of the Pakistan Air Force in the near future.
This statement almost officially announced that it would purchase the FC-31, Pakistan has long used Chinese and American fighters, and it is a professional and technical air force with a lot of actual combat experience, and is gradually replacing the F-16 with a J-10CE fighter as planned. In this context, it is vigorously promoted, which can play a huge role in promoting the export of FC-31** fighters, not to mention that these local tyrants in the Middle East are very optimistic about Chinese equipment. Therefore, everyone found that more and more objects came to observe at the air show, including Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
FC-31 in Pakistani propaganda film
FC-31 in Pakistani propaganda film
Tanzanian customer.
Malaysian customer.
The FC-31 continues to appear at international air shows, and the carrier-based version and the air force version are already on the eve of equipment, and the next target for the Pakistan Air Force after receiving the J-10CE is it. Stimulated by various favorable conditions, the FC-31, an unavoidable ** fighter, will inevitably usher in a big sale, and I don't know which candidate there is in addition to Pakistan.
Carrier-based type too?