Chinese Supercarrier Fujian: A Threat To The Indian Waters? (Part-II)

Hello defence lovers! In the previous part of this article, we discussed how the Chinese Navy got its first aircraft carrier, what is Fujian, how it is powered and its EMALS systems. In this article, we will discuss Fujian’s airwing. We will also discuss the threats it posed to the Indian navy and how to counter those threats.

Shenyang J-15

• In the last article, we discussed how China acquired Admiral Kuznetsov’s sister ship Varyag from Ukraine and rebuilt that as Liaoning. Along with that purchase, China also acquired a Su-33 prototype from Ukraine. This prototype was extensively studied and then reverse engineered to produce the Shenyang J-15.
• The previous aircraft carriers of the Chinese navy were of STOBAR type. Launching a heavy fighter jet-like Su-33 from a ski jump is a challenging task. The thrust to weight ratio of Su-33/j-15 is below 1 under full load conditions. This makes take-off from the ski jump difficult. To execute the takeoff successfully, the jet has to compromise either fuel or ammunition.

• The original Russian Su-33 is a naval version of the Su-30. The flanker family comes under the category of heavy jets. On the other hand, Russians also operate Mig-29k which is lighter and has a thrust-to-weight ratio of over 1 in almost all loading conditions. That is the reason why the Indian navy chose Mig 29k over Su-33 for the INS Vikramaditya’s airwing. The Russians also use a mixture of Mig-29k and Su-33 onboard Admiral Kuznetsov.
• The common practice in ski-jump aircraft carriers is that the fighter jets do not compromise on their weapons but on fuel. After the takeoff, these fighters are refuelled using buddy refuelling. However, as per data in the public domain, J-15 is incapable of buddy refuelling. That’s a big disadvantage for the Chinese Navy.
• The initial versions of the Shenyang J-15 used Al-31f engines. These engines were difficult to operate in sea conditions. The PLAN faced serious operational issues in operating the engine in saline conditions. Later this was fixed by replacing the AL-31f engines with Chinese WS-10A engines.
• Now, Fujian being a CATOBAR carrier, the J-15 can be used up to its fullest potential. However, according to the data in the public domain, approximately 50 aircraft have been produced so far. This number is far less than the required number to operate three aircraft carriers.

J-35: Looks and Sounds Familiar?

• J-35 is the official designation of FC-31 aircraft which was a technology demonstrator of China’s future stealth deck-based fighter. The J-35 conducted its first flight the previous year and is believed to be ready for induction. As of now, it is unclear whether Fujian will be armed with J-15 or J-35.
• J-35 closely resembles the American F-35. There is no doubt that many stolen technologies from the F-35 have been incorporated into the development of the J-35. That’s the authentic Chinese method of making the development of an aircraft super fast.
• Stealth J-35 on board Super carrier Fujian will be a serious threat. It will be as capable as HMS Queen Elizabeth of the Royal Navy. However, we must not forget how reliable Chinese machines are and how experienced the Chinese are when we talk about carrier-borne operations.

Threats To the Indian Navy

• Aircraft carriers are supreme tools of power projection. The United States is the sole superpower today because of its massive economy and because of its aircraft carriers primarily. Aircraft carrier allows a country to project its power away from its home and also allows it to take the fight to the enemy’s homeland. CATOBAR carriers are the cause of concern not only for India but also for many countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Fujian will make PLAN capable of operating its J-15 fleet up to its fullest potential. It will launch AWACS like Hawk Eye. This will provide an edge to the Chinese Navy over the Indian navy since our aircraft carriers cannot launch AWACS. We rely on the Kamov Ka-31 helicopter for that role. Aircraft like Hawk-Eye and its Chinese copy is much superior to AWACS helicopters.
• With aircraft carriers like Fujian China is transforming itself from a regional marine force to a Blue water Navy. With J-35s in future, Fujian will be as capable as HMS Queen Elizabeth. If our enemy is getting stronger that’s definitely bad news for us.

How To Counter Fujian

• China’s economy is huge, we cannot compete with them. Their defence budget is thrice our defence budget. In future PLAN will continue to grow and we cannot just compete with them by numbers. INS Vishal is a necessity but what next? China will soon launch a Type 004 carrier which will be even bigger and better.
• Our doctrine has to be based around Aircraft carrier killers, not on aircraft carriers. The same doctrine was developed by the Soviet Union during the cold war and developed state-of-the-art anti-ship missiles which are almost invincible. We have to invest heavily in anti-ship hypersonic weapons. We already have many Brahmos carrying ships. Increasing that count will also help.
• The fighters are the primary weapon of the aircraft carrier, without which the aircraft carrier is worthless. Experts believe that most of the Chinese equipment is inferior to their western and Russian counterparts. Thus we have to use more capable fighters on our aircraft carriers than our enemy. The Dassault Rafale is a pretty good option overall. Our upcoming fighters- TEDBF and AMCA Navy will further boost the power of our aircraft carriers. Integration of Brahmos to our Naval fighters will be a Game Changer in this case.

JAI HIND