J-11B Fighters – China ‘Ditches’ Its Aging Pulse-Doppler For New, Powerful Radars; Uses Them For Military Drills In SCS
Posted: March 25, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, J-11, J-11B, South China Sea, WS-10 3 CommentsBy Sakshi Tiwari- March 24, 2022
In late 2019, a new variant of China’s J-11B fighter jet, which had served the PLA Air Force for decades made its public debut amid much fanfare. The modified variant of J-11, details of which remain classified, participated in the latest drills held in the South China Sea.
The three-day drill is significant as it was held in the backdrop of a US admiral revealing that China has fully militarized at least three of several islands that it built in the South China Sea.
On its part, China has defended its right to deploy weapons on its own sovereign territory. Pertinently, it claims almost the entire sea as its territory.
The highlight of these drills, however, was the upgraded J-11B. The PLA Navy has received an updated variant of the J-11B fighter jet, with at least one of them taking part in a recent mock combat drill over the South China Sea, Global Times reported.
The round-the-clock flight training, organized by a brigade linked with the PLA Southern Theater Command Navy Aviation Force, included free aerial battle and offensive and defensive tactical exercises, informed the PLA Southern Theater Command’s Weibo account.
The confrontational training took place over the South China Sea and involved more than ten fighter jets in mock engagements of four-versus-two and two-versus-two, according to a report by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
A J-11B fighter aircraft was seen returning from the drills and entering its hangar. Observers pointed out that this J-11B featured a grayish-white radar dome rather than the black radar domes found on other J-11Bs.
This is not the first time this aircraft was part of military drills. In February this year, three upgraded J-11Bs were seen attached to the PLA Northern Theater Command Air Force’s “Eagles in East Liaoning,” an elite unit that conducted night-time combat alert drills during the Chinese spring vacations, as previously reported by EurAsian Times.
J-11B: From Doppler To AESA Radar
Similar variations as observed in the recent footage have been noted since 2019, when the J-11Bs with black radar domes began moving to white ones, according to eastday.com, a Shanghai-based news source.
The color shift to the radar dome could suggest that the J-11B’s radar has been upgraded, possibly moving from the previous Pulse-Doppler radar to the modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
As compared to the Pulse-Doppler radar, the AESA scans with more precision as the radio waves can be blasted out in several directions at the same time using AESA radar technology. It provides more tactical information to its user by scanning at different frequencies.
AESA radars have a longer range, are capable of detecting even the minutest of the objects, and are resistant to jamming. According to analysts, the updated J-11Bs would have a longer detection range, identify more targets, and employ more modern armaments like the PL-10 short-range combat missile and the PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.
Wang Ya’nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine said that China has a big number of J-11B fighter jets, and upgrading them will considerably improve the PLA’s combat capability.
According to analysts, the current maneuvers indicate that both the Air Force (PLAAF) and the Navy (PLAN) would receive the improved J-11B. Further, the PLA Navy’s J-11Bs will also be equipped with China’s domestically built WS-10 engines as was suggested by previous reports.
This is significant as China remains locked in a tense battle with its regional rivals and the United States in the South China Sea as well as the wider Indo-Pacific region. A day before the drills started, a US carrier had traversed the Taiwan Strait which triggered angry Chinese aerial activity in Taiwan’s airspace.
Further, Vietnam had said that Chinese drills violated its Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf. However, China claims practically the entire South China Sea and has dismissed the accusation of militarization as ‘hype’. Admiral John C. Aquilino, the United States’ Indo-Pacific Commander recently alleged that China had deployed anti-aircraft missile systems and fighter jets in the South China Sea.
J-11
Shenyang J-11, also known as Jian-11, is a multi-role fighter aircraft produced by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in China (SAC).
In China, the J-11 aircraft has had a difficult history. The second batch of the “indigenously made and lawfully licensed” J-11A/Su-27SK was halted after Beijing was accused of breaching co-production agreements with Moscow.
The J-11’s success prompted Beijing to move forward with the development of the J-11B, an improvised and more domesticated version that employed Chinese avionics rather than Russian ones to lessen reliance on Russia.
A type 1474 radar, 3-axis data system, power supply system, emergency power unit, brake system, hydraulic system, fuel system, environment control system, molecular sieve oxygen generating systems, digital flight control system, and a glass cockpit are among the Chinese subsystems on the J-11B.
The J-11B is the backbone of China’s heavyweight fighter jet fleet today, and it is widely regarded as one of the most competent fourth-generation combat jets in service in terms of air-to-air and attack capabilities.
Over 200 of the elite fourth-generation heavyweight fighters are currently in service, with at least 70 in the Navy and at least 140 in the Air Force, however, the actual number is unknown because the planes are built behind closed doors in China and do not require foreign components, according to Military Watch Magazine.
Observers have predicted that the fourth-generation J-11B will develop to a fourth-plus generation level as a result of the enhancements and will remain in active duty with strong competitiveness for a long period.
The exact specifications of the upgraded J-11B are unknown but whatever they may be, one thing is certain: it will add more value to the PLA Air Force, and the greater the number of aircraft upgraded, the longer their lifespan will be.
Source: EurAsian Times “J-11B Fighters – China ‘Ditches’ Its Aging Pulse-Doppler For New, Powerful Radars; Uses Them For Military Drills In SCS”
Note: This is EurAsian Times’ report I post here for readers’ information. It does not mean whether I agree or disagree with the article’s views.
Tiananmen's Tremendous Achievements 
Last year China displayed a new radar that could track objects as small as flying insects. I wondered way that was necessary . Now with this new toy, those drones and decoys will certainly exhaust the munitions of a Nanchang J 5 trainer, as that’s all that’s needed as soon as those coordinates are known; so unless Satan has more drones and decoys than China has bullets,…..
Also, I rebuffed an indiot’s comment by telling him that the chief designer of the su27 said that the j11 was a totally different plane, except for the canopy,landing gear and engines. This article evidences that, except that I was wrong— China now has its own engines……
Meanwhile, the indiots are running around in circles wondering who will sell them their cast off war toys,and how much more will they get raped for, as wotever they buy is quickly countered by China’s constant improvements and collaboration with pak.
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AND, after the recent close encounter of the stealth kind over the ECS – Mighty Dragon J-20C Vs f35, US top commander Wilsbach was impressed by J-20C flight manoeuvres, responses & pilot expertise, so much so that he said, his preference in a conflict with China is to deploy drones, decoys against PLAAF, PLAN & A2AD – Reason – to exhaust Chinese defenses and munitions before launching US stealth f 35/22.
Can’t believe a top US commander talking cock, as if China has No drones, decoys, railguns … etc. Wilsbach is on the back foot betting big.
US airforce just realised that its stealth fighters has No guarantee of survival against China stealth 5th & 4.5 gen fighters. With the latest 4.5 gen J-11B flying with SU-30MKK, J-16, J-15, SU-35, J-20C & J-10C, the US airforce faces very stiff competition. The f35 is not an A2A superiority fighter, except for the outdated f22 & refurbished f15ex.
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Well, talking drones is, hi tech in America, since drones are pretty new concept for them. Look what the American can do with their drones, in the movie, in which the special effects were not even done by Americans, but Chinese and Korean. Considering a feminist American general broke lots of military protocols in 2016 only to watch Captain Marvel movie, this, top US commander, must be getting his military briefings from the movie as well. Watching movie is certainly less frustrating than watching, excel spreadsheet.
Once upon a time, it was the strategy for the Chinese to swarm the invading enemy’s advanced aircrafts with obsolete aircrafts, to exhaust their munitions with the sacrifice of the daredevil patriotic pilots. For this strategy, China built nearly 10000 fighter jets of J-5, J-7 and J-8. This strategy actually worked that the American was very spooked of invading China. It still worked well in 2001 when George W Bush tried to declare war on China over the spy plane incident to the horror of his secretary of state Collin Powell. At the time, Collin Powell was able to force the dumb George W Bush to realize the situation that he got the American into. Even today, when China has successfully built a modern and formidable technologically advanced air force, they are still in the process of getting rid those obsolete swarm aircrafts.
So what the irony it is that a, top, US commander is being, creative, being a shameless plagiarist to use Chinese obsolete tactics to use drones to swarm Chinese advanced aircrafts to exhaust their munitions. The American loved to point out how China copied them in the past. However, when they are put in the same disadvantage position as China, their ingenious solution is, to copy China. But as it is with copying and reverse engineering, you have to have the basic expertise to do it. China had those expertises, even when they were still backward technologically. Would America have the expertise? Would they have the resources to build those swarm drones? Or would America only talk and hope the Chinese American to build it for them. China had the resources of countless patriotic pilots ready to sacrifice their lifes for the Motherland. Do America have this kind of resources? Perhaps only in the movie.
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