J-31 to headline this year's Zhuhai International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition.

Expert: J-31 has export advantages


(Source: China Military Online)   2014-10-24


　 　BEIJING, October 24 (ChinaMil) –Over 130 aircraft of various types will participate in the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition to be unveiled on November 11, 2014 in Zhuhai of south China’s Guangdong province, and the J-31 stealth fighter will also appear in Zhuhai and conduct a demonstration flight, according to media reports.

　　Xu Yongling, an aviation expert, said in an interview that the Chinese fighters are renowned for its low cost and excellent technical standard. The J-31 stealth fighter has export advantages. In the future military trade market, China will no longer be the "small potato". Instead, its market share will gradually increase.

　　The J-31 stealth fighter had its successful maiden flight in 2012 and is still in the test phase. However, will its participation in exhibition only two years after the maiden flight reveal secrets of China’s stealth aircraft technology?

　　Xu Yongling said that the J-31 is likely to be positioned as an export-oriented aircraft initially. Therefore, the secrecy is not a problem. The J-31 shall disclose its appearance as much as possible in order to have a good showcase.

　　The current global arms export market is still dominated by the United States. Russia’s orders remain stable in the second place while arms exports from Europe are gradually improving. China is relatively weak in this field. "If Russia and Europe are entering into rivalry with the U.S. over the cake, then China can only cut a corner form the cake", said Xu Yongling. Once the J-31 is being exported, it will become a highly-competitive product in moderately developed countries or below, along with third-generation fighters.

　　European countries are traditional allies of the U.S. so their military aircraft trade contains a lot of strategic and political factors. It is very difficult for other countries to intervene.

　　The training systems in the NATO, the U.S. and its allies are bounded together. "It is very difficult for aircraft developed by outsider countries to enter their market as the threshold is very high", Xu Yongling said.

　　Xu Yongling stressed that China does not want to sell fighters to western countries. In addition to traditional friendly countries such as Pakistan, there are many countries in the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America whose demand for fighters matches China’s ability to export military aircraft. Some countries are lacking imported third-generation fighters while their second-generation fighters are going to the scrapheap. They have a large demand for importing fighters.

　　“If China’s products can catch up with the rhythm of these countries in terms of time period and we take initiative from military diplomacy, then the possibility of having a share in the third-generation and fourth-generation fighters market in these countries remains relatively high," said Xu.

　　Xu Yongling believes that the Chinese fighters’ share in global arms trade market will gradually increase in the future. It is possible for China to transform from a "corner” role to an important player with strong competitiveness.



Editor:Zhang Tao