a model of china's fc-31 stealth fighter jet is on display at the airshow china 2021 in zhuhai, south china's guangdong province, on tuesday. photo: liu xuanzun/gt
china's second stealth fighter jet, the fc-31, made its reappearance at the airshow china 2021 in zhuhai, south china's guangdong province, which kicked off on tuesday, and this time, it is displayed together with the powerful pl-15e beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, as the missile, also used by china's j-20 stealth fighter jet, is announced to be available for export for the first time.
both the fc-31 stealth fighter jet and the armament are of top-level, and their partnership will make them even stronger and among the best in the world, experts said on tuesday.
a scale model of the fc-31 is displayed at an entrance of the exhibition hall of the state-owned aviation industry corporation of china (avic), together with models of a pl-15e very-long-range air-to-air missile, a pl-10e short-range air-to-air missile and an ls-6/250 precision glide bomb.
the pl-15e is an air-to-air missile with a maximum range of 145 kilometers guided with a combination of inertial, satellite navigation, datalink and active radar, the global times learned from description boards at the exhibition.
the ls-6/250 is a guided precision glide bomb with a maximum range of more than 100 kilometers and weights 294 kilograms.
the pl-10e is an advanced, very agile and aggressive short-range air-to-air missile that was announced to be available for export during the airshow china in 2018.
domestic versions of the pl-15 and pl-10 missiles are used by advanced warplanes of the chinese people's liberation army (pla) air force like the j-20 and j-16 fighter jets, observers pointed out.
developed as a fifth-generation fighter jet aimed at fulfilling the demands of future warfare and having delivered a flight performance at the 2014 edition of the airshow china, the made-for-export fc-31 again made its appearance this year, avic said in a statement sent to the global times.
the fc-31, comparable with the us' f-35, is one of the world's most advanced stealth fighter jets, a chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the global times at the air show on tuesday.
the pl-15e, pl-10e and ls-6/250 can cover long-range and short-range air combat as well as surface attack, making the fc-31 capable of fighting in all ranges and against all targets, the expert said, noting that the pl-15e is particularly powerful due to its beyond-visual-range capability much superior to other countries' missiles.
combining the fc-31 and the weapons together means a world-class warplane even better than the f-35, the expert said.
speculations have been circulating for a long time whether the made-for-export fc-31 will eventually join domestic service with the pla and become its next-generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet.
while refusing to make a direct comment on the speculations, zhou guoqiang, general manager assistant at avic, told a group of reporters including from the global times in a preview visit to the exhibition hall shortly prior to the opening on tuesday that the fc-31 reflects china's strength, and is a key achievement in the "20" aircraft family.
not far away from the fc-31 model, a giant rotary table in the center of the avic exhibition hall displayed the other members of the "20" aircraft family, namely the j-20 stealth fighter jet, the y-20 large transport aircraft, the z-20 utility helicopter and the gj-11 stealth armed reconnaissance drone.
