Although many people on the Internet are still skeptical about the existence of the J-31 stealth fighter, Shen Fei is unswervingly advancing. According to the official video of Shen Fei's recent introduction of the development process, a stealth fighter numbered J-31B clearly appeared. Even more surprising is that it also includes two air-to-air missiles in the side bomb bay - a creation unique to the world!
This video released by Shen Fei introduces its glorious history, and the last part lists the models it has developed in the form of CG, including the J-11, J-15 and Falcon stealth fighter. The CG model of the Falcon fighter is marked with its designation J-31B, which is obviously an abbreviation for J-31B.
This stealth fighter, which was first unveiled under the designation FC-31, was advertised for the export market. For various reasons, it was finally selected by the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier aircraft force, and after a series of improvements, it was finalized under the number J-35. Originally, the outside world thought that China's stealth fighter force would appear with a combination of Air Force J-20 + Navy J-35, and the statement of the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force was earth-shattering - announcing that it would purchase J-31 stealth fighters from China. As we all know, only the fighters that the Chinese military determines will give the "J" series number, and the statement of the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force undoubtedly proves the existence of the third stealth fighter J-31, which is different from the J-20 and J-35.
Just when many Chinese netizens questioned whether the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force was unclear and did not understand the difference between the FC-31 and the J-31, China's aviation industry also exhibited a model of the J-31 fighter at the Middle East Defense Exhibition. Although its appearance is significantly different from the earlier "Falcon Eagle" and the navy J-35, the kinship between the three is clear at a glance.
All indications show that the J-31 may be the Chinese Air Force's own model, compared with the J-35 used by the Navy, it removes the additional strengthened landing gear and other equipment for the ejection and take-off of carrier-based aircraft, the empty weight is slightly smaller, and the wing shape has also been changed. The video released by Shen Fei this time proves that the J-31 model not only exists, but also an improved J-31B model.
If you take a closer look at the CG model of the J-31B, it also has another very special design - two air-to-air missiles can be seen in the open side bomb bay. At present, stealth fighters in various countries use internal bomb bays to minimize the radar reflection area, among which F-22 and J-20 both use the side bomb bay + main bomb bay design, the side bomb bay accommodates short-range combat missiles, and the main bomb bay is equipped with medium-range air-to-air missiles or ground attack weapons. But both stealth fighters can only have one air-to-air missile in each side of the bomb bay. That is, when performing air-to-air operations, the F-22 usually uses the cooperation of two combat missiles + 6 medium-range missiles, while the armament of the J-20 is two combat missiles + 4 medium-range missiles. As for the American F-35 stealth fighter, it does not have a side bomb bay design, and when the main bomb bay is equipped with medium-range air-to-air missiles or ground attack weapons, it can only be equipped with combat missiles on the wing tips, destroying the stealth shape.
In the past, the US Air Force believed that the insufficient number of combat missiles carried by the F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters was not a problem, and that when facing non-stealth fighters, they mainly relied on their stealth advantage to carry out out-of-sight attacks and then disengaged, and they did not use combat missiles at all. However, in recent years, the US Air Force has found in confrontation exercises between stealth fighters that due to the application of stealth technology, the detection range of fighter fire control radars has been greatly reduced, resulting in a sharp increase in the chances of them engaging in close-range combat. In this case, the insufficient number of combat missiles for stealth fighters becomes a big problem.
(The F-35 does not have a side bomb bay is a big problem)
Judging from the side bomb bays of the J-31B, which can accommodate two combat missiles each, it is obviously a reinforced design for this problem. It can be inferred from this that the J-31B can carry 4 combat missiles + 4 medium-range air-to-air missiles, and this air superiority configuration is also more in line with the combat needs of the Chinese Air Force. The author believes that the Chinese Air Force may already be preparing for air combat in the era of stealth.