J-11A
| This page is about the Chinese jet fighter J-11A. For other versions, see Su-27 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The J-11A (歼-11A型歼击机) with identical NATO codename of Flanker-B, represents the Sino-Belarusian upgrade for the SKD series J-11, a licensed built of the infamous Su-27SK. By 1996, SAC has negotiated for the domestic assemble and later production of Su-27SK at Shenyang, Liaoning, where the experiences gained during the construction would further be refined by engineers as the basis of future heavy interceptors; after the blueprints and required machineries have been delivered to Shenyang, SAC constructed the first batch by September 1998 and further 4 batches were constructed until the later J-11B (Flanker-L) replaced the production line, now with mostly domestic alternatives to the decade-old Flankers and fully translated cockpit. Originally, Russia has planned for a Su-27SMK variant for PLAAF with upgraded avionics and weaponry; however the completion of reverse-engineer and introduction of domestic interceptors with vastly improved avionics put an end to this program. Meanwhile, after the introduction of PLANAF's Su-30MKK (Flanker-G) and their R-77 missiles, PLAAF seek for solutions to upgrade the J-11A fleet with capabilities to launch ARH AAMs; this in turn led to the cooperation between SAC and Belarusian's 558th Aircraft Repair Plant where the latter introduced a very interesting mean to bypass the obsolete FCS on J-11A, by programming and rewiring the systems to trick it that it was an earlier R-27 series instead of a R-77 was installed, Belarusian engineers upgraded the aircraft at minimal costs and modifications to J-11A. By 2010s, the need for intensive CAP missions over South China Sea also brought in a new upgrade for certain J-11As operated by divisions in Guangdong by installing domestic UV MAWS systems for maximum situational awareness; these aircrafts are still in service with PLAAF by some units as part of the ever-growing PLAAF interceptor fleet.
Introduced in Update "Seek & Destroy" as one of the new Flankers arrived in game for this patch, J-11A introduced the capabilities to launch ARH AAM while having slight upgrade on situational awareness; while the aircraft itself is still haunts by the vastly inferior Russian avionics, the overall combat capability and handling is mostly identical, if not better than previous J-11 (Su-27SK).
General info
Flight performance
Like its brother J-11, the performance of J-11A can be said as identical to its predecessor. Although it would still take 8 more years for SAC to refine the somewhat overweight airframe, the original design of Flanker has exceptional maneuverability for such a huge jet; like mentioned in previous jet, J-11, it has very similar length to a J-8II while having much wider airframe, making it one of the largest jet fighter in game in terms of surface area. With the help of the SDU-10 FBW system and almost 1.0 T/W ratio, even jets at lighter weight will have problem dogfighting a Flanker in dire situation; while it still retains very similar, if not the same stall speed of other Flankers in-game, remember the most iconic maneuver, "Pugachev's Cobra" is more of an aerobatics instead of conventional maneuvers for dogfight and its 21x14 m size also means enemy shots will have easy time landing shots onto the airframe, so unless in a solo dogfight, take Flanker as a missile truck, then "hit-and-run" for maximum efficiency while evading any missile that has locked onto the player.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at 12,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 2394 | 2349 | 16000 | 25.5 | 26.0 | 172.1 | 160.1 | 750 |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 700 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | - |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | ||||
| Saturn AL-31F | 2 | 16,990 kg | 426 kg/m2 | ||||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | |||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 13m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 44m fuel | ||
| 1,520 kg | Afterburning low-bypass turbofan | 19,810 kg | 21,184 kg | 23,281 kg | 26,390 kg | 34,586 kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP) | ||||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 13m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 44m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | 7,220 kgf | 11,660 kgf | 1.18 | 1.10 | 1.00 | 0.88 | 0.67 |
| Optimal | 7,220 kgf (0 km/h) |
15,640 kgf (1,540 km/h) |
1.58 | 1.48 | 1.34 | 1.19 | 0.90 |
Survivability and armour
By 1980s, to further reduce the weight, most interceptors were not equipped with extra armor plates for both the pilot and critical components; this is no exception for the Flanker series and also its Chinese domestic production variants, thus the pilot can face fatal hits from both autocannons or missile shrapnel.
Meanwhile, all the 5 fuel tanks onboard are self-sealed, meaning that with the help of researchable fire extinguishers, the J-11A can sometimes save itself from fatal structural failure in case of a fire.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) | EEGS |
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Offensive armament
The J-11A is armed with:
- 1 x 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon, wing root-mounted (150 rpg)
- 96 x large calibre countermeasures
Suspended armament
The J-11A can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 kg OFAB-100 bombs | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 250 kg FAB-250M-62 bombs | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2 | |||||
| 250 kg OFAB-250-270 bombs | 1 | 1, 2, 6 | 1, 5 | 1, 4 | 1, 2 | 1, 5 | 1, 2, 6 | 1 | |||
| 250 kg OFAB-250Sh bombs | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2 | |||||
| 500 kg FAB-500M-62 bombs | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2 | |||||
| 500 kg FAB-500Sh bombs | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2 | |||||
| ZB-500 incendiary bombs | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1, 2 | |||||
| S-8KO rockets | 20, 40 | 20, 40 | |||||||||
| S-13OF rockets | 5, 10 | 5, 10 | |||||||||
| S-25O rockets | 1, 2 | 1, 2 | |||||||||
| S-25OF rockets | 1, 2 | 1, 2 | |||||||||
| S-25OFM rockets | 1, 2 | 1, 2 | |||||||||
| R-27ER1 missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| R-27ET1 missiles | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| R-27R1 missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| R-27T1 missiles | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| R-73E missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| RVV-AE missiles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 1,500 kg | |||||||||||
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
The overall payload of J-11A is 94% identical to previous J-11 with only R-77 missiles as the exception. The principle of the design of Flanker is an interceptor, not multirole fighter; thus it still lacks more advanced precision ground attack munition like AGMs or LGBs for much safer approach on enemy vehicles, this also hinders the overall research efficiency when players have to ditch AAMs for unguided munitions in case players need the XP from AI ground targets. While using them at ground RB is still possible, this requires the elite among elites to achieve maximum efficiency without being blasted out of the skies at the first minute.
For AAM loadouts, R-73E, R-27(E)T/R1 and R-77 are now your best friends when facing enemy aircrafts; the loadout options can leave up to 10 AAMs at once with different loadout options depending on player's desire. The R-73E and its Russian cousin are well known for their excellent maneuverability at close range while having some extend of ECCM capabilities; while they are still susceptible to flares or sometimes the sun itself, a shot on careless players can certainly earn a victory over them while sometimes seeing the missile flies like an UFO then hit the target. Before the R-77 was researched, the R-27T or R (IR; radar-homing) missiles can be said as better than none due to their already inferior performance at its tier since they don't have sufficient thrust for long-range engagements, this also worsen by the unreliable N001E radar in this case; the ET1/ER1 is completely another story, the former turned itself into a huge IR AAM seeking for the most careless player from afar while the latter can travels up to 20 km reliable and score a victory even from more advanced foes, but this require a radar lock so be very cautious for any oncoming threats before the target was erased from existence.
The R-77 finally turns J-11A into a competent rival at top tier, although the unique fence-wing drastically increase its drag for long-range engagements, a lock on enemy jets at much closer distances (i.e 10 km) turns R-77 into a somewhat dogfight missile; due to the datalink limits at only one missile at a time, be sure to keep the lock as long as possible before the tracker fires up and search for the enemy target.
The ground loadout on the other hand is still disappointing: all the loadouts under this category is totally identical to Su-27S/J-11 with wide range of unguided bombs or rockets at player's disposal. The rocket pods are more for light vehicle columns or SPAAs while the bombs at up to 500 kg is still more than enough to take down even the heaviest MBT at its tier; in case players do have the need to go for ground attacks in ground RB, make very good use of CCRP or top-down attacks given players evaded the blind spots of enemy threats.
Usage in battles
The J-11A shares many identical features with its predecessor from Soviet Union/Russia, the Su-27SK/J-11 with only the addition of R-77 missiles being the exception; while the overall combat capability is vastly limited by inferior avionics even with upgrades, the modification with Belarusian and the domestic upgrades from PLAAF still make it competent in modern aerial battles.
Air - The Northeastern Chicken Rib Cages
For players who have some degree of knowledge on Chinese slangs, 鸡肋 (Chicken ribs) means something that isn't much useful but still wasteful to dispose with; this is somewhat true for the J-11A as some might refer it as a chicken rib cages which is a low-budget but tasty dish in Northeastern China. The background of this dish was due to the decline of state-owned enterprises by 1990 when workers still seek for ways to enjoy a good meal at low budget. For the PLAAF, although there were J-10(A) and J-11B in service by mid-2000s, the fleet of around 104 J-11A could use some upgrades for the future battlefield before more advanced jets can replace them; this is also the key of J-11A's in-game representation: a way to upgrade the fleet with slightly revised avionics and domestic UV MAWS. The overall flight performance of J-11A can be said as totally identical to previous J-11 with negligible weight differences, the only differences are only the addition of R-77 and a domestic MAWS; a major problem for the Flanker platform (aside from Su-27SM or post-2006 SAC Flankers) is the rather inferior radar system, while his cousin in Russia Su-27SM received upgrades on radar and RWR, J-11A only received a FCS upgrade for the guidance of R-77 and only at one missile at a time due to datalink limits (as discussed in history section). This also means players have to be familiar with the radar performance that has somewhat low reliability even to its lower-tier domestic jet, J-8F, this will be problem with any given radar-guided missiles as they will require a reliable lock on targets before they hit enemy targets, let alone the more advanced R-77 which still needs some guidance before it can turn on its seeker. Considering that players have to get through researches before having any different missiles, the two R-73E will be the best friend of J-11A and be sure to find the most careless target for maximum efficiency; while most jets at this tier has MAWS, players will need extreme situational awareness to evade every single missile - one unexpected missile is more than enough to disable the enemy target for good.
As for the R-77 in this case, due to its datalink limits and missile limits, the R-77 can leave as a supersize "dogfight" AAM in this case, while it might not travel as far as most of its competitors in different tech trees, with vertical scan mode or HMD mode, players can lock onto the closest target as soon as possible before they launch the R-77 onto enemy targets; it is more than enough to turn on the missile seeker and tracks the target.
Ground - A Tradition to Hold
*Due to the identical ground payload of J-11A to the previous J-11, the only exception would be the UV MAWS installed on J-11A and R-77 missiles, thus tactics can be referenced to the J-11 in this case.
Among the Chinese community, there is a saying that "Anything in PLAAF must come with ground-attack capabilities using unguided rockets". This is in fact true for the J-11A in this case as there are many images from PLAAF showing the Su-27SK, the J-11A or the future J-11B series carrying Russian/domestic rocket pods for ground attacks. The Flanker family is known for their interception capabilities but the rather abundant payload is also a good platform for ground-attack operations albeit lacking any precision munitions; pylons on the J-11A is mostly identical to the previous J-11 with multiple payload point, when players think a Flanker is nowhere an attacker, it does in fact have even more bombs in quantity than the Chinese domestic JH-7A (30 x 250 kg bombs vs. 22 x 250 kg bombs) in case players want to cause extensive damage to enemy armored column. Players can also go for even more bombs with 100 kg bombs or better kill radius with 500 kg bombs, depending on the playstyle and the composition of enemy vehicles. It is always a good idea to carry varieties of bombs for heavy targets while leaving the rocket pods (twin pods) to handle light vehicles; for example, the FAB-500 series is a good idea to take out heavy targets in stationary or armored columns, while leaving B-8 or B-13 rocket pods against light vehicles or SPAAs. But as a thumb of rule of Flanker family in-game: always plan for your assault when entering the battlefield as enemy SPAAs or fighters would want to hunt down enemy jets as well. Although lacking the ground-attack capabilities of the Su-27SM, thanks to the CCIP and CCRP onboard, the J-11A can employ both high-altitude or low-altitude approach against enemy targets, either by bombing a certain area filled with enemy vehicles or evading SPAAs before unleashing hell against enemy players. If the skies are full of enemy jets which SPAA systems could not handle, it will also be a good time to utilize the great missiles on the J-11A ranging from the IR guided R-73E, the R-27 family and now the R-77 ARH AAMs. Employing tactics from air battles is still viable to keep the skies clear as it is always a good idea to pick careless players that are too concentrated on ground-attacks.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent maneuverability for such a huge jet, identical to the J-11
- Upgraded domestic UV MAWS for higher situational awareness
- Vast arsenal of AAMs or air-to-ground weapons at up to 10 payload points
- Huge internal fuel tank for sustained combat
- Access to RVV-AE ARH AAM for even longer engagement range
- Devastating 30 mm autocannon with sufficiently high rate of fire
Cons:
- Huge target
- Retains the same inferior Soviet-era electronics and RWR as the J-11 or Su-27
- Only guides a single RVV-AE at once due to datalink limits
- Low ammo count for last-ditch gunfights
- Lacks precision air-to-ground ammunition for CAS operations
History
For PLAAF, the deal of Su-27SK was certainly an excellent (and the most viable) decision to enhance the already obsolete PLAAF interceptor fleet which was still yet to deploy any SARH AAM (the previous tests on J-8II and B wasted many imported Aspide-1A missiles; it was way until 2002 when PL-11 and J-8H were finalized) and seeking for a heavy interceptor platform for the more advanced domestic avionics. After the introduction of the 38th and 39th batch of Su-27SK from Soviet Union/Russia, PLAAF negotiated for almost 3 years since 1993 for the domestic production license of Su-27SK by SAC in Shenyang; with the threats for no further orders of Flankers to PLAAF service and the worsening economy after the shock therapy, the deal was set for 200 jets to be assembled on CKD/SKD kits at Shenyang since 1998 while the engineers have to prepare beforehand for the translations of documents two years earlier since 1996. This set for the foundation of later J-11A and (mostly) domestic J-11B; but by the end of 20th century, the tactics of aerial combat have shifted vastly - after the introduction of more advanced ARH AAM such as AIM-120 series, the absence of continuous guidance on target from the launcher aircraft enabled "hit-and-run" tactics at a much farther radius. Although deemed as the state-of-the-art jet for PLAAF of its era, J-11A which was produced since 1998 now lagged behind the era and would soon be threaten by another Sukhoi jet for PLANAF: Su-30MKK Flanker-G delivered in 2000.
Earlier by 1995, Sukhoi introduced the very unique Su-27SMK* (block no. 40-01, 305; also the prototype of Su-27SKM for Indonesia) in attempt to further secure the orders from PLAAF with retractable refuel probe, ground attack capabilities and upgraded avionics; but the eventual first flight of J-10 and advancement in radar technology broke any hopes to sell this variant to PLAAF. This also led to the eventual cancellation of any further production of Su-27SK in Shenyang with only 105 jets delivered to PLAAF (the remaining 95 airframes were reused for Su-27SM series by KnAAPO); with the commence of J-11B program and Project No. 12 (PL-12) by 1998, attempts to enhance the combat capabilities of J-11A also rose up as PLAAF now has R-77 (RVV-AE; AA-12 Adder) introduced thanks to the PLANAF deal on Su-30MKK; this missiles delivered since 2000 brought in a major problem for engineers: How to guide an ARH AAM with the N001E radar?
*Note: The name SMK would be more grammatically correct in Russian nomenclature; renamed to SKM but still means Serial Modernization Commercial
Due to the design of N001E radar, its guidance method and unable to reverse-engineer the FCS, it was impossible for J-11A to even consider R-77 at the first place (NIIP revised the radar systems as the N001VEP for Su-27SM; while Su-30MKK installed N001VE for additional air-to-surface combat capabilities); which also means F-16C or F-15C/E series can engage the Flanker way before it reaches the calculated maximum firing range. Due to the lack of concrete information, aside from PLAAF images showing J-11A with two R-77s on the centerline, there is a missing link between those images and the modification; the most well-known rumor suggested that SAC seek for the assistance of Belarusian's 558th Aircraft Repair Plant and led to an interesting solution to the problem: since PLAAF never imported the first series R-27 which still exists in the coding of FCS, Belarusian engineers decided to rework on the programming and some hardware of the radar systems to trick the SUV-27 FCS that it was R-27 instead of R-77 that was in the payload. This crude yet effective modification quickly became the upgrade for J-11A; although the modification requires the pilot to countdown with clock before launch, it gave the chance to return-fire upon foes, not being a sitting duck during aerial combat. Around 2010s, thanks to the advancement of avionics at CETC and their introduction of UV MAWS for PLAAF interceptors, some J-11A operated by the 2nd Division, PLAAF received experimental MAWS installed on four corners of the aircraft as an solution to enhance situational awareness during their CAP missions over the South China Sea; although not becoming the standard issue for the remaining J-11A fleet in PLAAF service, this ultimate upgrade done by both Chinese and Belarusian can at least keep J-11A up to the pace of modern aerial combats - it might be obsolete since it's a two-decade-old aircraft, but with the help of the extensive datalink complex of PLA, J-11A could still support its more advanced "brothers in arms" to defend the skies.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Su-27 "Flanker" series
Soviet Union/Russia
- Su-27 - Su-27S to be precise; the second serial production variant for VVS
- Su-27SM - Modernization of Su-27S with upgraded avionics and capabilities to use precision munitions
Mainland China
- Su-27SK/J-11 - PLAAF purchase of block 38 and 39 Su-27S in 1990 and 1993 respectively
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (中航工业沈阳飞机工业(集团)有限公司) | |
|---|---|
| Jet Fighters | |
| MiG-15 | J-2* |
| MiG-17 | J-4* |
| MiG-19 | J-6A* |
| J-8 | J-8B · J-8F |
| Su-27 variants | J-11* · J-11A* |
| Export | Shenyang F-5* |
| *Licensed Note: "J-2" and "J-4" are not official designations | |
| See Also | Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau |
| China jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | J-2 · J-4 · J-6A · J-7II · J-7D · J-7E · J-8B · J-8F · J-10A · J-11 · J-11A |
| Strike aircraft | Q-5 early · Q-5A · Q-5L · JH-7A |
| Bombers | H-5 |
| France | ␗Mirage 2000-5Ei |
| USA | ␗F-84G-21-RE · ␗F-84G-31-RE · ␗F-86F-30 · ␗F-86F-40 · ␗F-100A · ␗F-100F · ␗F-104A · ␗F-104G · ␗F-5A · ␗F-5E · ␗F-16A MLU |
| USSR | ␗MiG-9 · ␗MiG-9 (l) |
| North Korea | Shenyang F-5 |
| Pakistan | A-5C · JF-17 |
