China and South Korea in stealth fighter arms race

[KingsOfTheDay]

China and South Korea in stealth fighter arms race

Staff Reporter 2013-09-03 17:23

Concept art for China's J-11B fighter. (Internet photo)

To compete with the F-15SE Silent Eagle of the Republic of Korea Air Force, China has decided to upgrade its J-11 fighter with fifth-generation stealth capabilities, according to our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The Seoul-based JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Boeing-designed Silent Eagle, an upgraded version of the F-15K Slam Eagle, has a very similar capability to the F-35 Lighting II of the US. Even though the F-15SE is not the best choice for South Korea's new stealth fighter program, the price of the F-35 had far exceeded the budget available to the country's airforce.

The F-15SE is a potential challenge to the PLA Air Force in a regional air conflict. As a result, China has begun redesigning its J-11 fighters based on the blueprint of Russia's Su-27 to have a stealth mode like the Silent Eagle.

The radar housing, canopy, admission ports, vertical tail and other crucial parts of the J-11 will all be modified for the upgraded version. Analysts from China pointed out that the modification of J-11 has nothing to do with the Silent Eagle however, since the program had already been approved before South Korea requested their new plane.