Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) subsidiary Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) has revealed its J-31B Shen Fei/Gyrfalcon combat aircraft in a new computer-generated video showcasing its fighter portfolio in early July.
The company did not disclose further details of this particular variant of the J-31 development, which was first made known to the public in late 2012 as the FC-31 and believed to be originally intended to be marketed as an affordable and stealthy multirole combat aircraft for international customers.
However, official updates from the company over the years have also acknowledged the ‘Jian-31’ (J-31) which denotes aircraft being used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air and naval aviation services.
The single-seat FC/J-31 to be considerably smaller than the PLA Air Force’s J-20 Mighty Dragon, suggesting that it might make up the ‘low’ end of a ‘high-low’ fifth-generation capability mix with its larger stablemate. The general design characteristics of the FC/J-31 – low aspect-ratio wings and tailplanes of trapezoidal planform; chined fuselage, with forward-swept engine intakes; outward-canted twin vertical fins; and internal weapons carriage – are fairly typical of today’s crop of fifth-generation fighters, and indicate at least some degree of stealth.
As with the J-20, the FC/J-31 is a twin-engined design and is also currently powered by Russian Klimov RD-93s turbofan engines with an indigenous Chinese powerplant expected to be fitted for production-standard aircraft.
AVIC earlier in 2022 established an office to actively promote domestic and international sales of the FC/J-31, which suggests that the aircraft is close to initial production and could be ready for export orders within the decade. The type would be the third Chinese-made combat aircraft to be offered for export, alongside the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) FC-1 Xiaolong light fighter – which is being manufactured under license by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex as the JF-17 Thunder – and the CAIG J-10 Vigorous Dragon multirole fighter.
by JR Ng
