Shenyang (AVIC) J-13

History

The Sino-Soviet split between communist China and the Soviet Union (1960-1989) forced the Asian powers to seek internal solutions for their ongoing military needs - hence the Chengdu J-9, Nanchang J-12 and Shenyang J etc plans - 13. The latter entry is based on the concept of a Mach 2 capable single-seat single-engine fighter with all modern designs and features. However, the program's learning curve -- especially in developing a viable high-performance engine -- led to the scrapping of the lengthy program in the early 1990s.

However, the data collected in the process proved to be invaluable and contributed to the design and development of the Chengdu J-10 (described in detail elsewhere on this website), which is now officially in service with the Chinese Air Force.

The origin of the J-13 lies in the need for a successor to the Shenyang J-6 in the early 1970s (detailed elsewhere on this page). The J-6 was nothing more than a locally produced copy of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 "Peasant" single-seat jet fighter, but provided the Chinese aviation industry with extensive experience in building and maintaining complex systems.

About 4,000 aircraft were built under the J-6 designation, and the fleet worked well into the new millennium. But even by the standards of the 1970s, its best days were fast approaching, as advances in fighter technology kept early Cold War aircraft in aviation history.

Shenyang Aircraft 601 Research Institute is working hard to develop a new type of aircraft to replace this model.

This commitment led to the development and extensive testing of several fuselage and wing designs in the 1970s. The project made some progress when electronic and avionics adjustments were chosen in the middle of the century, but the main drawback turned out to be the required powerplant, of which Chinese industry had only experience producing Soviet replicas.

The WS-9 in question was based on the British Rolls-Royce "Spey" Mk 202 turbofan, which became the first choice, but problems dictated a temporary switch to the WS-6 family of turbofans. The Soviet Tumansky R-29 turbojet engine was then extensively studied, but simply could not perform as required.

Nonetheless, the Chinese version of this engine, the WP-15, should be used in new light fighters due to the lack of better alternatives.

The aircraft was shelved as more attention was paid to more promising designs due to ongoing engine development issues and waning interest in long-term projects. It wasn't until the mid-1990s that the J-13 program officially ended.

The Chengdu J-10 won the Spurs as the latest fighter to enter the Chinese Air Force, and the J-13 went down in history. The aircraft entered service in 2005 and about 400 have been built since then (2016).

The finished J-13 should have a slender fuselage with a central wing. The main aircraft was given a straight trailing edge and a swept leading edge that met a small portion of the wing root on the side of the fuselage. The side-mounted dual-inlet unit was designed to power a single jet engine unit that sprayed through a single port under the stern. A single vertical stabilizer was intended to be mounted on the rear of the fuselage, in combination with the low-level horizontal plane.

The pilot sits behind a very tapered nose cone assembly with a raised fuselage ridge that blocks his view of the aircraft's tail. State-of-the-art electronics and avionics will be installed, along with a conventional tricycle landing gear.

The fighter is believed to be equipped with internal cannons and mounts (including wingtip mounts) for air-to-air missiles.

Estimated specs include a top speed of Mach 2.45, a combat radius of 2,3450km and a service cap of up to 19,000m.

Specification

Basic

Production

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Dimensions

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Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes