China’s participation in the 2024 Singapore Air Show is quite strong. The Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China both participated, and the top-equipped Z-10 armed helicopter and C-919 large passenger aircraft were displayed outdoors, all of which were real aircraft. The editor-in-chief of this magazine was particularly excited when he saw these models on site, which shows that China’s aviation industry is rising.
In fact, China can have a stronger display, for example, real aircraft such as the J-20, Y-20, and Z-20 (currently all the models on display) can also participate in the exhibition and perform flight performances. This is not a fantasy, and it may really come true one day. However, while we see the growth of China’s aviation industry, we should also see that compared with strong enemies, we still have certain shortcomings, which is what we should really be alert to and catch up with. The editor-in-chief of this magazine felt that the following shortcomings had to be mentioned through on-site observation.
Shortcoming 1: China still has no intercontinental strategic bomber
During the Singapore Air Show, two B-52Hs from the United States made their debut. Although they only performed a flight show on February 22, after all, the deterrence of this eight-engine bird flying high once was enough. At least as a Chinese, when I saw two B-52Hs flying past me, what I thought of was that we still don’t have such an intercontinental strategic bomber. .
This is the gap in reality.
B-52H is no longer an advanced strategic bomber, and it is even an old machine that has been in service for more than half a century, but there is one and there is none. The Chinese Air Force still has no such intercontinental strategic bomber.
The strategic bombers currently in service in the Chinese Air Force are some new modifications of the H-6, such as the H-6K/J, but their range is still not comparable to that of the B-52H and Tu-160, and they are still not intercontinental strategic bombers. The US military has many strategic bombers, all of which are intercontinental, from the old B-52H to the stealth B-2A. Therefore, this is also a major reason why military fans are full of expectations for the H-20, hoping that it can be both stealth and supersonic, and preferably can fly intercontinentally.
The United States’ new generation strategic bomber B-21 has already made its maiden flight. Where is China’s H-20?
Let’s look forward to it together!
Shortcoming 2: Hard-pipe refueling, when will China have it?
At the 2024 Singapore Air Show, two refueling aircraft were displayed, one was the KC-135, and the other was the larger, multi-purpose A330MRTT.
The Chinese Air Force’s refueling aircraft was the H-6U in the early days, and the current one is the Y-20. However, there is still a lack of multi-purpose refueling aircraft such as the A330MRTT.
In addition, one of my personal feelings at the scene was that the hard-pipe refueling device was too stimulating to me. Whether it is the KC-135 or the A330MRTT, there is a hard-pipe refueling device more than ten meters long installed under the tail. The intuitive feeling at the scene is that this device is too large.
China currently still uses hose refueling, when will it have hard pipe refueling? Perhaps some netizens will say that China currently has enough hose refueling, and may not need hard pipe refueling.
What I want to say is, how big is the difference between having and not having? After we have hard pipe refueling, we can talk about whether we need hard pipe refueling. At least, we can be like A330MRTT, soft and hard, isn’t it good?
Shortcoming three: Where is the new generation of anti-submarine aircraft benchmarked against P-8A?
The P-8A on static display at the Singapore Air Show this time, according to the on-site crew, flew directly from Okinawa to Singapore for the exhibition. When it comes to Okinawa, we should think that this P-8A must have appeared many times in the waters around our country, and it can be regarded as an old acquaintance of China. If I remember correctly, the US Secretary of Defense and media reporters have taken the P-8A into the airspace over the South China Sea. Not only did they enter the South China Sea, they also photographed the islands and reefs in the South China Sea and spread the theory of China’s island-building threat.
According to the P-8A crew on the scene, the US military’s P-3C anti-submarine patrol aircraft has been retired; on the other hand, China currently has the Y-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, which is still benchmarked against the P-3C in terms of performance, so there is a generation gap between China and the United States in anti-submarine patrol aircraft. When will our next generation of anti-submarine patrol aircraft be unveiled?
Shortcoming 4: What about China’s heavy armed helicopters?
Although China sent the top-of-the-line version of the Z-10 to the Singapore Air Show this time, when we compared it with the "Apache" on the scene, there was an obvious difference in both the mighty appearance and the size of the body. After all, the "Apache" is a heavy armed helicopter, while our Z-10 is a medium-sized armed helicopter.
The news about the joint development of heavy armed helicopters by China and Russia was widely circulated in the early years, but it has become less common in recent years. It is said that there are problems with the cooperation and China may go it alone. In any case, China’s heavy armed helicopters are on the way. We look forward to their public debut as soon as possible.
Shortcoming 5: Aero engines, we still have a large gap in reality
In the indoor exhibition hall of the 2024 Singapore Air Show, there are many engine products.
Some netizens said with deep feeling: It would be great if China could develop companies like Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce as soon as possible.
Although my country has established the China Aero Engine Corporation and separated it from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, specializing in the pre-research of aircraft engines, and has indeed made rapid progress in recent years, and both military and civilian engines have made considerable progress, but compared with companies like Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, the gap is still quite
obvious. China’s aviation engine still has a long way to go. However, it is gratifying that in recent years, my country has made many breakthroughs in the field of new concept engines, including subsonic scramjet engines, various combined engines, detonation engines, etc.
