Chinese Junk? Latest Fighter Plane from People's Army Ticketed for Export
A new fighter plane built by China is drawing more snickers than raves from aviation experts, and the People's Army is now saying the jet was really ticketed for export all along.
The J-31 "Falcon Hawk," likely designed by reverse-engineering a downed U.S. stealth fighter, was supposed to become Chinas next generation of carrier-based aircraft and take its place next to the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II as the gold standard in air force weaponry, according to a report last month in Peoples Daily. But now it looks like China, which has exactly one aircraft carrier, has scaled back the hype and will peddle the aircraft to second-tier air forces like Brazil, Pakistan and some Middle East countries.
Even the Chinese press has been critical of the jet, with Bejing-based Sina Military Network calling the J-15 a flopping fish, and claiming that the plane could not take off from a carrier with heavy ammunitions which could cripple its attack range as well as firepower.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2013-10-02 |