Chinese media actively report on the country's rapidly growing aviation industry. However, truly great powers do not steal designs or copy them without authorization, violating intellectual property rights. This opinion was expressed in an article for Eurasian Times by Indian Air Force veteran Anil Chopra. He listed the Soviet and Russian aircraft that were copied in the PRC.
Most of the aircraft in the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) are unauthorized copies obtained through reverse engineering. Stealing foreign military technology is China's weakness. Thus, the country avoided costly and time-consuming R&D.
The first copied aircraft were the two-seat training JJ-2. They were built by the Chinese company Shenyang Aircraft Corporation using MiG-15UTI technologies. In the sixties, the country assembled copies of MiG-15 and MiG-17 under the names J-5 and J-6. Later, the authorities managed to obtain licenses to produce these aircraft.
Chinese developers tried to create their own all-weather fighter-interceptor. They studied technologies from a number of countries, including the USA and the USSR. This is how the J-8 aircraft appeared, which is called a copy of MiG 21 and Su-15.
The J-8 was introduced in the mid-sixties, but due to the crisis in the country, it was not produced until 1979. The aircraft entered service with the PLA only in 1980. According to Eurasian Times, about 300 such aircraft were built.
The Chinese made the next step in the aviation industry in the seventies.
In the 1970s, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation proposed a new design for a light fighter with a British Rolls-Royce Spey 512 engine. It was supposed to have better maneuverability than the MiG-19 and a better rate of climb than the MiG-21.
Only in 1998 did China introduce the J-11 aircraft. It was a version of the Su-27SK air superiority fighter. It turned out that the PRC authorities concluded an agreement with Russia for $2.5 billion, under which the country was granted a license to produce 200 Su-27SK aircraft under the name J-11.
Under the agreement, the J-11s were to be equipped with Russian avionics, radars and engines. However, in 2004, after the release of 100 units, the joint production of the basic J-11 in China was stopped.
In the 2000s, it was reported that the PRC was considering replacing the Russian components of the J-11 aircraft (a copy of the Su-27SK) with Chinese ones. It was proposed to replace the radar, engine and air-to-air missiles.
Obviously, the Chinese have mastered the art of stealing aircraft designs. In addition, many Soviet aircraft designers moved to China in 1991.
Read more on the topic:
Bulgarian Military: China says its Su-27SM3 fighter is superior to the Russian Su-27
