The Chinese are confident that the J-10 fighter is better than the MiG-35. Why is this not so

Pavel Bukanov @flicker

The Chinese are confident that the J-10 fighter is better than the MiG-35. Why is this not so | Oruzheynikoff | Yandex Zen:

Translated by google


For many years, China has been manufacturing its military equipment, not only for itself, but also for export. The know-how of China is also interesting - to produce military equipment separately for sale abroad, and for yourself. Yes, Russia also produces export versions of its production equipment, but still these are the same models, with slight differences. Since the end of last year, everyone began to compare the MiG-35 and J-10, the fighters of Russia and China.

The “couch experts” were triggered by an intrigue created by Iran - there they were going to buy 150 Chinese J-10 fighters, then they seemed to switch their attention to the Russian MiG-35s, now they again want to abandon the Russian fighters in favor of the Chinese.

Comments, publications, and "hot news" rushed right there - they say the Russian MiG-35s are poop, but the Chinese J-10s are great aircraft. Moreover, the justification of this statement is precisely Iran’s desire to buy Chinese aircraft.

But let's figure out which fighter is the best, based on technical characteristics, and not on the game of Iran:

1. The curb weight of the J-10 is 18 tons, the MiG-35 is 18.5 tons;

2. The maximum speed of the J-10 is 2400 km / h, the MiG-35 is 2560 km / h;

3. Flight range without refueling - 2000 km and 3500 km, respectively;

4. The combat radius with normal combat load is 800 km and 1000 km, respectively;

5. The practical ceiling is 18 km and 16 km, respectively;

6. Combat load - 7260 kg and 6000 kg, respectively;

7. Double-barreled 23-mm gun and 30 mm GS-30-1 aviation gun, respectively.

8. The j-10 engine: 1 × Saturn-Lyulka turbofan AL-31FN or Woshan WS-10A Taihang, maximum thrust: 89.43 kN (7700 kgf), afterburner thrust: 125 kN (12,700 kgf) .

MiG-35 engines: RD-33MK or with UVT RD-33MKV with all-angle thrust vector deviation (within + - 20 °). Maximum traction: 2 × 9000 kgf.

The cost of fighters for 2010: J-10 - 41 million dollars, MiG-35 for 2011 - 45 million dollars.


Thus, the Russian MiG-35 surpasses the J-10 in almost all respects, in addition, the Chinese fighter has one serious problem - Russian engines are installed on it, there are also its own, but so far the Chinese cannot get rid of numerous problems with the engine.

As for Iran, the characteristics of military equipment are not always decisive in the choice of one weapon or another, here there is price, politics, and possible pressure from the seller.

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