Ref.: TRUM-01662
PLAAF J-11B Fighter The Shenyang J-11 with NATO reporting name: Flanker B+ is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter based on the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: Flanker) air superiority fighter produced by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole operator of the aircraft. In 1995, China secured a $2.5 billion production agreement which licensed China to build 200 Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27SK aircraft using Russian-supplied kits. Under the terms of the agreement, these aircraft would be outfitted with Russian avionics, radars and engines. However, only 95 of the original aircraft were delivered and the contract for the remaining 105 is still pending. It is believed that Russia cancelled the arrangement in 2006 after it discovered that China had reverse-engineered the technology and was developing an indigenous version, the J-11B. China however insists that it requested Russia to cease deliveries of the aircraft because it could no longer satisfy the PLAAF’s requirements. The J-11B variant while lacking the latest Russian features, does incorporate various Chinese modifications to the airframe in addition to the inclusion of Chinese avionics and weaponry. The J-11 is a fourth-generation jet fighter which, like its Sukhoi brethren, is intended as a direct competitor to Western previous generation fighters such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon.