Shenyang J-11

J-11
A Shenyang J-11 flies over Anshan Airfield in March 2007.
Role	Air superiority fighter
Manufacturer	Shenyang Aircraft Corporation
First flight	1998
Introduction	1998
Status	Active service
Primary user	People's Liberation Army Air Force
Produced	1998–present
Number built	253+ (as of February 2014[update])
Unit cost	US$ 30 million
Developed from	Sukhoi Su-27SK (airframe for J-11)
Variants	Shenyang J-15 Shenyang J-16

The Shenyang J-11 (: 歼-11), with NATO reporting name Flanker B+, is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, whose airframe is based on the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: Flanker) air superiority fighter. It is currently manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China (PRC) is the sole operator of the aircraft.

The base J-11/A is a fourth-generation jet fighter which, like its Sukhoi brethren, is intended as a direct competitor to Western fourth generation fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.

In the 1970s, Shenyang Aircraft Factory proposed a light fighter powered by the British Rolls-Royce Spey 512 engine, but otherwise similar to the MiG-19 then in service. Known as the J-11, the project was abandoned due to difficulties in obtaining the engines.

The J-11 was finally born in 1995 as a Chinese version of the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27SK air superiority fighter after China secured a $US2.5 billion production agreement which licensed China to build 200 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, in 2004, Russian media reported that Shenyang co-production of the basic J-11 was halted after around 100 examples were built. The PLAAF later revealed a mock-up of an upgraded multi-role version of the J-11 in mid-2002. The indigenous J-11B variant incorporates various Chinese material modifications and upgrades to the airframe with improved manufacturing methods in addition to the inclusion of domestic Chinese technologies such as radar, avionics suites and weaponry, including anti-ship and PL-12 air-to-air missiles presumably for the role of a maritime strike aircraft. The alleged reason for the sudden stop in the production line of the J-11 was because it could no longer satisfy the PLAAF's requirements, due to elements such as the obsolete avionics and radar, which were structured for aerial missions.

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