Recently, Shenfei Rong Media released the CG painting of its newly developed J-31B fighter, from which we can see that this type of fighter is a stealth fifth-generation aircraft with a side magazine, which itself is very rare in the field of medium-sized fifth-generation aircraft, after all, the only medium-sized fifth-generation aircraft F-35 in service does not have a side magazine. What's even more amazing is that the side magazine of the J-31 is loaded with two missiles! This is even more unbearable to give a thumbs up to this model of fighter. Because among all the fifth-generation aircraft currently in service, it is very likely that only one missile can be installed in the side magazine, so after the official debut of the J-31B, it is likely to become the world's first fifth-generation aircraft with two missiles in the side magazine. As soon as the J-31B was released, it has won a "world first", which is really exciting.
The built-in bomb bay is one of the important symbols of a stealth fighter, without a built-in bomb bay, the fighter's missiles can only be mounted, so that its stealth shape design is offset and no longer exists. At present, several stealth fighters in service, except for the F-35, a single-engine medium-sized aircraft, only have a belly magazine, and the rest of the fifth-generation aircraft are designed with the main magazine on the belly and the side magazines on both sides of the aircraft, whether it is F-22, J-20 or Su-57 (the so-called "cocoon magazine" of the Su-57 is essentially a side magazine). However, the above three fifth-generation aircraft, the number of bombs in the side magazine are all one missile, and among the known fifth-generation aircraft, only Shen Fei's J-31B side magazine can install two missiles. So, what are the benefits of installing two missiles in the side magazine? What role will the J-31B, with two missiles installed in the side magazine, play in the future?
The most immediate advantage is that the loading of air-to-air missiles will increase. Because generally speaking, the side bomb magazine is smaller than the main bomb magazine, so it is mainly used to mount air-to-air missiles, that is to say, the J-31B fighter is likely to be stronger than the rest of the fifth-generation aircraft in service in the future in terms of air combat. This is very likely to indicate that our Air Force has considered the possibility of a comprehensive air response to fifth-generation aircraft in the future. After all, if it is in the case of a fourth-generation aircraft against a fifth-generation aircraft, the fifth-generation aircraft can gain an advantage by using stealth performance, and if both sides are fifth-generation aircraft, under the condition that everyone can be stealth, then both sides can only get close to a certain distance and cancel each other's stealth advantage, so that the fighter aerial combat that has been staged for more than 100 years since the beginning of World War I will appear again: and if in the case of aerial combat, there are two more air-to-air missile launches, which is likely to mean that the victory or defeat of the battle changes hands!
So, what role can the J-31B, which obviously has an advantage in air combat, play in the future of our air force system? We know that if the J-31B fighter is the second fifth-generation aircraft of the Air Force in the future, it is very likely to cooperate with the J-20. As a large twin-engine heavy fifth-generation aircraft, the J-20 has a very diverse purpose, and it is likely to be able to perform a variety of tasks such as ground and sea. Then in this case, the J-31B, which is smaller in size and more flexible in action, can escort the J-20, use the advantage of air combat to drive away the fifth-generation aircraft that shot down the opponent, and let the J-20 be free from the interference of the opponent's fighter when performing the mission. In addition, in terms of seizing regional air supremacy and using stealth capabilities to penetrate defenses, the J-31 will certainly be able to play an important role.
Finally, one more thing, now this model of fighter has officially debuted under the name of "J-31", then it is very likely to show that the fighter has finally been recognized by the Air Force after the debut of the basic model for many years, perhaps in the near future, we will be able to see the world's only side magazine hanging two bombs of our army's new generation of fifth-generation aircraft soaring above the blue sky, let us wait and see!