China's Next Generation Fighter to be jointly designed by SAC & CAC

In the middle of November, AVIC-I on its website announced that Shenyang Aircraft Designing Institute is going to delivering the detail design drawing of "Key Model" with AVIC-I’s other preponderant Institutes with advantages.

An artist's imagnination about China's future fighter


A realistic 3D image generated by software, was once believed as China's next generation fighter.

In the news story, this "Key Model" is eyed by SAC (Shenyang Aircraft Corporation)'s heads as a significant milestone in AVIC-I's Development. This so-called "Key Model" is probably one sub item of China's next generation air combat system project, which is a family jointly designed by SAC and CAC (Chengdu Aircraft Corporation), additionally including XAC (Xi’an Aircraft Corporation) and FAI (First Aircraft Institute) of AVIC-I possibly.

PLA admits F-22's great advantages, but does not plan to follow U.S.' way.

Unlike F-22's 4S characters, China has been eager to find an unusual countermeasure method in Network-Centric Warfare age. China foresees that a wide and integrated air situational awareness and combat system can face the challenge from stealth fighter. So China's next combat aircraft would not be one single fighter but an integrated JACS (Joint Air Combat System) family, which includes stealth strike fighter, Long-Range AA missile Launching platform and anti-stealth UAV.

The new striker probably has a low observation (RCS <0.3 href="http://picasaweb.google.com/cuteftpster/CoolMilitary2/photo?authkey=WeThqOU8RK4#5141495726054384626">
"Dark Sword" UAV

Although SAC's "Dark Sword" has displayed China's pre-research in UCAV area, China dose not trust UCAV can enter real combat in next 20 years.

At present J-10 has entered mass production and J-11B is near its final stage. When Russia's new Su-35 introduced in MAKS 2007, PLA Air Force evaluates it as the most advanced improved 4th generation fighter, comparing with Typhoon and Rafael. But China has no interests on Su-35 because J-11B/BS is enough to PLA Air Force, which proposes to pay more energy on revolutionary combat aircraft.

Russia's New Su-35 in MAKS-2007

Meanwhile, AVIC-I dose declare to become one of world Top 500 Corporations in the year of 2010. So AVIC-I, the most powerful aviation enterprise in China, prefers to re-organize forces from its subsidiaries for PLA’s future airpower and then acquires greater capital support from China Government.