In previous years, Huaxia was not keen on promoting the FC-31, but focused on the JF-20, the export model of the J-10.

In the final analysis, it is because the FC-31 has the possibility of its own use, and it is very likely to become the main carrier-based fighter of the Navy.

That's not to say that it can't be exported.

In fact, when the United States vigorously promoted the F-35 series of fighters, Huaxia really needed an advanced fighter that could match and compete with it, and the FC-31 was obviously a fighter of this grade, and it was also the only fighter in the world that could compete with the F-35A.

It can be said that from beginning to end, Huaxia did not say that it was not allowed to export FC-31.

The problem is that if it is characterized as an export-oriented fighter from the very beginning, then the development of the FC-31 must be mainly export-oriented, that is, research and development for export.

Obviously, this will inevitably have an impact on its development work.

Don't forget, the Huaxia Air Force is not very interested in the FC-31, but the Navy has a little interest, and what it needs is a carrier-based type.

Obviously, herein lies the problem.

If there is the possibility of self-use, moreover, the lead carrier-based fighter of the Navy, then the FC-31 will have to compromise with the standards of the Navy.

To put it bluntly, you have to prepare for the ship.

Compared with the fighters of the Air Force, carrier-based fighters have more unique requirements.

For example, because the landing speed is to be reduced as much as possible, it also needs better low-speed maneuverability, so the wing area must be as large as possible.

For example, the overload during landing and the overload during catapult take-off are relatively large, so the landing gear and fuselage structure must be strengthened.

In addition, it is necessary to preserve the marine environment.

In terms of tactical performance, the navy needs a multi-functional fighter, that is, a multi-role fighter, so the requirements for performance are relatively balanced.

In this way, what the navy needs is a fighter that can not only conduct air supremacy operations, but also have a strong strike power.

Taken together, there is an extremely clear difference between carrier-based fighters in the Navy and medium fighters in the Air Force.

In fact, there is a very big difference between the American F-35A and the F-35C.

The F-35C used by the Navy not only has a larger wingspan, but also can fold the wings, thus obtaining a larger range, but the maximum speed has been reduced a lot, the maximum overload has also been reduced from 9G to 7.5G, the agility of maneuvering is significantly reduced, and the ability to perform air supremacy tasks is not as good as that of the F-35A.

You know, the air combat performance of the F-35A is already very bad.

So, will the FC-31, developed according to the needs of the Huaxia Navy, be able to meet the needs of overseas users?

At least, apart from the US Navy, none of the customers bought the F-35C, the main ones that were exported were the F-35A, and even the F-35B found overseas users.

There is no doubt that the FC-31 developed for the Huaxia Navy may not perform much better in the international market.

You may be able to find a few users, but the sales won't be too large.

Of course, the development of an Air Force version specifically for export on the basis of the Navy version of the FC-31 is not impossible, but too expensive.

You know, the F-35C is less than sixty percent similar to the F-35A.

It can be seen that the design cost of developing two models of FC-31 is simply too great.

In addition, the only fighter from ship to land that really sells is the F-4 a few decades ago.

After that, the F-14 had only one overseas user, Iran during the Pahlavi period.

As for the F/A-18 series, which was blown into the sky by the US military, although it found several buyers, it sold very little, and it could not be compared with the Air Force fighters of the same period.

In addition, there is a problem here.

Was it the first to develop the FC-31 in the carrier-based version of the Navy, or the first to develop the FC-31 in the export version?

Obviously, there has to be a question of priority, or priority.

As long as there is a possibility of being procured by the Navy, then the first to develop the ship-based type will definitely be the carrier-based type, and then the export type will be developed on the basis of the carrier-based type.

The problem is obvious, that is, the development of the export version of the FC-31 will definitely be significantly delayed, perhaps for more than a dozen years.

More than a decade later, when the FC-31 can finally be exported, the United States may have begun to sell the F-22A, and Huaxia will also take out the J-20.

By that time, will the FC-31 of the export version be needed?

It can be seen from this that what dragged down the FC-31 project was actually the hope for the Navy.

Now, the Navy has turned its attention to the carrier-based J-20, which is equivalent to loosening the restrictions on the FC-31, so that the FC-31 research and development team can go all out to enter the overseas market.

What's more, the FC-31 became a purely export-oriented fighter.

All the restrictions that existed for personal use are now gone.

To put it simply, the Chinese authorities no longer restricted the participation of other countries in the development of the FC-31, but began to encourage the participation of potential buyers.

The name is joint development, but in fact, it is to bear the research and development expenses and research and development risks together.

It is precisely in this way that in the year of the ceasefire of the Iraqi civil war, the "International Joint R&D and Production of the FC-31 Project" team led by the Huaxia Aircraft Factory was established.

The first to join in was Pakistan.

Although India has abandoned its martial arts, abandoned the Su-57 project that has lasted for more than ten years and spent billions of dollars, and began to seek ways to introduce F-35A from the United States, the negotiations have not gone very smoothly, mainly because the United States is unwilling to transfer relevant technology.

To put it simply, because the United States only promised to export the whole machine, India was very dissatisfied.

You must know that it was only when the United States agreed to export the F-35A that India changed its course and kicked Russia, which had fooled India for more than ten years, away.

Now the Su-57 project is basically yellow, and the F-35A is not landed.

Perhaps, the Indian Air Force will have to use the Su-30MKI, F-16E/F and Rafale to fight for another ten years before it is possible to enter the era of fourth-generation aircraft.

It's just that no one can deny that India could get the F-35A at any time.

In fact, the United States has not refused to export F-35A to India, but is unwilling to transfer technology, that is, it is unwilling to let India produce F-35A on its own.

Strictly speaking, this is not the fault of the United States either.

The F-35A is originally an international fighter jet, and many countries are involved in its development, so whether to transfer technology is not a separate decision of the United States.

It can be seen that as long as India is willing to accept the conditions of the United States, then it will soon be able to obtain the F-35A.

You know, Loma's pulsating production line can produce hundreds of F-35 fighters every year, at least one-third of which are exported.

Obviously, as long as an agreement is reached, India will be able to acquire dozens of F-35As in a year.

With the situation in South Asia, a few dozen F-35As are enough to dominate the skies of South Asia and form an overwhelming advantage over neighboring countries, especially Pakistan.

It is precisely because of this that Pakistan has a more urgent need for fourth-generation aircraft.

Unfortunately, with India present, Pakistan will not be able to get the F-35A anyway, and Pakistan may not want the F-35A.

At this point, the FC-31 became the only hope for the Pakistan Air Force to enter the era of fourth-generation aircraft.