Russia's Rusting Defense Industry + China's Stealth Jets in Flux

choi

(1) Russia Wrestles With Reality And Loses. Strategy Page, Sept 5, 2013
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20130905.aspx
(In 2010, Russia announced the deal to buy four Mistral amphibious assault ships from France. "Russia already had a deal with Israel, to build a factory in Russia to build Israeli UAVs under license. Similar deals were made with other Western suppliers for armored vehicles from Italy")


(2) Both Chinese Stealth Designs Move Forward. Strategy Page, Sept 5, 2013.
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20130905.aspx

Quote:

"One advantage the J-31 is it has two engines, compared to one for the F-35. This means the J-31 could carry more weapons but this is less crucial with all the guided weapons available.

"There are at least two original J-20 prototypes [both of which debuted in 2011], and late last year a new prototype appeared that had several modifications and is estimated to have a max weight of 36 tons. While the J-20 looks like the American F-22 when viewed head on, it's overall shape, weight, and engine power is closer to the American F-15C. * * * Worse, for the J-20, is the fact that its engine power is about the same as the F-15C, while the F-22 has 65 percent more power. With the afterburner turned on, the J-20 has more power than the F-15C and nearly as much as the F-22. But because the afterburner consumes so much fuel you can't use more than a few minutes at a time. * * * The J-20 has some stealthiness when it's coming at you head on. But from any other aspect, the J-20 will light up the radar screen. For this reason the J-20 is seen as a developmental aircraft, not the prototype of a new model headed for mass production.