A model of the China’s FC-31 stealth fighter is displayed abroad for the first time at the 14th Dubai Airshow in the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 8, 2015. (China Radio International photo)
A year after unveiling the FC-31 stealth fighter, Chinese officials say a production version of the fifth-generation aircraft — the country’s answer to the American-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — will fly by 2019, according to multiple news reports.
Li Yuhai, deputy general manager at China’s Aviation Industry Corp., known as Avic, and Lin Peng, the FC-31’s chief designer, were on hand at the Dubai Airshow this week to talk about the program.
Tony Osborne, a reporter for Aviation Week & Space Technology, reported:
“With a first flight planned for 2019, an initial operating capability would occur in 2022 or 2023, and the aircraft would be fully operational two years later.”
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The plane is made by Shenyang Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of Avic, and resembles the U.S. military’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp., though with two engines rather than one. The pair of Russian-made Klimov RD-93 engines are a variant of the propulsion systems found on the Mikoyan MiG-29.
Full article: China to Fly FC-31 Stealth Fighter by 2019: Reports (Defense Tech)
