news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

as the national day approaches, official news about the 15th zhuhai air show has finally begun to be released intensively. on september 25, the chinese air force and the aviation industry corporation of china simultaneously announced the scheduled equipment for the zhuhai air show. according to the chinese air force, the equipment exhibited by the chinese air force at this zhuhai air show will have the following characteristics:

first, in terms of static display, the air force exhibitors will display their equipment in four sections: "air control operations and air strikes, unmanned and anti-unmanned operations, strategic delivery and airdrops, early warning detection and air defense and anti-missiles", and the displayed equipment will show a systematic feature;

secondly, it will showcase new fighter jets developed by the chinese air force in recent years, visually demonstrating long-range strategic delivery and air strike capabilities. at the same time, the navy and army brother units will also send equipment to participate in the exhibition.

at the same time, aviation industry corporation of china also officially announced the exhibition plan for this air show. aviation industry corporation of china pointed out that at this air show, aviation industry corporation of china's indoor and outdoor exhibition area will reach 20,000 square meters, with a total of more than 260 products on display, an increase of one-quarter compared to the previous session, and nearly 30% of the products will be exhibited for the first time.

especially in terms of static display, the aviation industry will focus on the classic military trade aviation products that have entered the international market for 45 years, plan a static exhibition of key military trade aircraft series, and also showcase the development results of new quality productivity such as commercial aerospace and unmanned systems.

speculations about new equipment

i remember that every zhuhai air show was held at the turn of september and october. military fans would speculate on what new aircraft models would be unveiled at the show and what aircraft models would participate in the flight performances. these were all topics that they enjoyed talking about.

this zhuhai air show is no exception. the press conference of the chinese air force and the aviation industry on the 25th has added a lot of enthusiasm for discussion. after all, judging from the statements of the air force and the aviation industry, this zhuhai air show is mainly about the word "new". the chinese air force will focus on displaying new fighters developed in recent years, and the aviation industry will display various new productivity and key foreign trade models. moreover, this year the navy aviation force will come to the exhibition for the first time.

so, how to understand the word "new" in the air force and aviation industry? what is this "key foreign trade model"? what is the "strategic delivery and airdrop" that the air force wants to demonstrate? it immediately sparked heated discussions among military fans.

from yesterday to today, big ivan has seen numerous extremely optimistic statements, believing that the chinese air force proposed at the press conference that it would demonstrate its "strategic delivery and airdrop" capabilities. the second point is easy to understand, as transport aircraft and airborne troops are the main combat equipment. as for the first point, even big ivan believes that it may mean that we will bring strategic bombers to this year's zhuhai air show for display.

as for what kind of strategic bomber it is, the one that military fans are most looking for is of course the "water molecule" - the h-20. after all, this model has been rumored for more than ten years. it can't be that after so many years, the sound of the stairs is heard but no one comes down. even if the real machine cannot be brought out to show us, it would be fun to show a scale model or something like that.

everyone also has high expectations for the new fighter jets developed by the chinese air force in recent years. for example, a deep technical improvement of the j-20 fighter, a two-seat improvement of the j-20 fighter, and the new generation of naval carrier-based aircraft j-35, many people speculate that they will be displayed for the first time at this zhuhai air show.

equipment display rules

in fact, ivan has accompanied everyone through the two zhuhai air shows in 2021 and 2022. with the experience of these two zhuhai air shows, i believe we have a certain understanding and judgment of the equipment display rules of the chinese air force and aviation industry at the zhuhai air show. so, what are the basic rules for the chinese air force and aviation industry to conduct static exhibitions and equipment displays at the zhuhai air show? ivan briefly summarized them, there are several:

first, there is almost no possibility of demonstrating the equipment under development.looking at the display rules of the zhuhai air show over the years, the probability of equipment that is under development and has not yet been finalized and equipped to the troops appearing in zhuhai is almost zero. but there is an exception, that is, the equipment is used for technical verification and is not necessarily to be equipped to the troops, such as the display of the fc-31 fighter verification aircraft at the zhuhai air show and the flight performance of the j-10b-ovt at the zhuhai air show. in addition, due to its high confidentiality, equipment under development is unlikely to appear at the zhuhai air show.

second, the equipment display appears to be progressive.for example, a new type of equipment might have only been put on flight demonstration in the previous session, but might be quietly displayed on site in the next session. for example, the mounting of a certain main combat aircraft model might have been relatively conservative in the previous session, but relatively advanced in this session. the most typical examples are the j-16d and j-20.

the j-16d is said to have had a glimpse at the 2018 zhuhai air show, and it was officially on display at the 2021 zhuhai air show. the j-20 fighter is the most typical example, having gone through a circle over jinwan airport, a flight show on the professional day, and a flight show on the first day of the professional day and public day. in 2022, it finally landed after completing the flight show at the opening ceremony, but it did not stop in the static exhibition area, but in the apron area for the flight show, which attracted a lot of photos.

another example is the h-6k bomber, which only carried k/akd-20 cruise missiles at several zhuhai air shows, but suddenly changed to carry a certain air-launched hypersonic aircraft in 2022. there are also the j-16 and jh-7aii, which only carried things like k/akd-88 before, but suddenly changed in 2022 and carried new air-to-surface weapons such as k/akf-98a and k/akd-88c. it can be said that the main combat aircraft models participating in the exhibition have not changed, but they have been equipped with new mounts, which reflects the typical improvement of air or surface strike capabilities.

third, we are still a bit reserved when it comes to equipment display.although we always say that we want to display advanced main battle equipment, in fact, the most advanced things are still a little bit hidden. of course, this is not necessarily the case. for example, in terms of long-range area air defense missiles, we can only display the hongqi-9b/c, which is already the most advanced equipment. but in most cases, the equipment we display is still a little bit behind the actual equipment, or the equipment that will be equipped soon, or the equipment that is under research and development and has entered the late stage of research and development.

this is also normal. after all, on the one hand, this display strategy is more stable, and the speed of equipment research and development is not so fast, so that all the highlights of this session will not be displayed, resulting in no highlights in the next session. on the other hand, it is also kept confidential.

new equipment at this year's air show

now that we have summarized these simple rules, it goes without saying what equipment the chinese air force will be able to show everyone at the 15th zhuhai air show in 2024.

don't even think about seeing the "water molecule" and a certain advanced version of the j-20. these are all equipment under development or new equipment that is much more advanced than the current equipment, so there is no possibility of showing them to everyone. on the contrary, the two-seat version of the j-20, as a technology verification aircraft, has a little chance of being shown to everyone, referring to the previous experience of the fc-31 and j-10b-ovt exhibitions. but big ivan believes that the possibility is almost zero.

after all, when the j-10b-ovt was brought out for display, its technical verification project was almost completed, and the aircraft was subsequently retired and sealed. the flight display at the zhuhai air show can be said to be the aircraft's final farewell performance.

the two-seat improved version of the j-20 has not reached that stage at all yet. the confidentiality of this aircraft is very high, and compared with the basic model of the j-20, there are not so many fancy aspects that can be seen by us - except for one more pilot, so there is no point in displaying it.

in contrast, ivan believes that the j-20 fighter jet is likely to be on display this year. there have been flight performances in previous years, and it landed briefly at the opening ceremony in 2022, where a group of "spies" took photos with their cameras. according to the principle of gradual progress, it is very likely that the j-20 fighter jet will debut in the center of the static exhibition area this year.

the improved version of the y-20 transport aircraft with the new engine may also be exhibited statically or in flight. after all, the y-20 transport aircraft is also a frequent visitor at the zhuhai air show. for many years, everyone has only seen the fws-18 version, which is more or less boring. with the big barrel version already flying in the sky, it is time to choose the zhuhai air show as a platform to officially unveil it.

the h-6k bomber has been seen many times, but the h-6j and h-6n bombers have not been seen yet. with the next generation of bombers clearly existing and under development, it is quite possible that these two bombers will be unveiled, especially the h-6n, which is in line with the chinese air force's declaration at the press conference that it wants to demonstrate its strategic delivery capabilities.

but big ivan thinks that it is unlikely that the h-6n will also reveal its strike capabilities. it is still expected that the h-6n will display its strike capabilities in a step-by-step manner. it is estimated that the h-6n will display an air-launched hypersonic aircraft similar to the previous one.

in addition to these two models that may be exhibited statically, some other models may use new mounting solutions. for example, the j-16 fighter jet, whether to hang the flying telephone pole for everyone to see is worth looking forward to, and whether the j-16d and j-10c models will hang some new air-to-surface weapons, or even air-to-air missiles, is also worth looking forward to. if the h-6k/j participates in the exhibition, whether to hang the yj-12a anti-ship missile can also be seen. of course, compared with the whole aircraft exhibition, the mounting solution does not receive enough attention, and everyone will see when the time comes.

compared with the air force, the aviation industry has almost shown its trump card models to everyone this year. since it has been mentioned that the military trade achievements and key military trade models will be displayed, the pakistani air force's j-10cp may come. of course, the most important thing is that the latest technical status of the fc-31 must be displayed, which is our next generation of main foreign trade models.

therefore, one of the highlights of this year's zhuhai air show should be the latest improved version of fc-31. in addition to the static display of the j-20, the appearance of models such as the h-6n and y-20b, there are definitely enough highlights at this year's air show. there are only a few air shows in the world that can exhibit two fifth-generation aircraft at the same time.

in fact, what big ivan is looking forward to more is what type of aircraft the navy aviation will send to the exhibition? logically, the navy aviation should send the j-15, but judging from the recent frequent appearances of the navy aviation's j-11bhg, it is not ruled out that the navy aviation will also send this type of aircraft to the exhibition, or simply send one of each type.

but no matter what, the ones sent must be members of the flanker family - that is to say, at this year's zhuhai air show, we can see the chinese air force's j-16, j-16d, j-15 or j-11bhg, and the russian aerospace forces' su-35s, a total of four to five types of flanker competing on the same stage. this may be an unprecedented flanker feast, and even at russia's own air show, such a grand occasion may not be seen.

generally speaking, this year's zhuhai air show will surely be spectacular. let us wait quietly for its arrival.