Russia Is Angry That China Stole and Copied Its Jet Fighter Designs - RTR279NJ_0.jpg

https://news.yahoo.com/russia-angry-...020000518.html

Key point: China has often stolen foreign military technology but there are
risks to doing so.

Remember that Russian carrier-based jet that China copied without permission?
Those airplanes are crashing, and Russia doesn't seem too broken up about it.

Though Russia and China are now friends, even holding joint exercises, Russia's
Sputnik News recently trotted out an article titled "Chinese Navy Short on
Carrier-Based Fighters, Only Has Problem-Ridden J-15."

The J-15 is an unlicensed copy of Russia's Su-33 carrier jet, which is a 1980s
derivative of the Su-27K land-based fighter. China had acquired a T-10K-3, an
Su-33 prototype, from Ukraine and then reverse-engineered it.

With a barely disguised touch of schadenfreude, Sputnik News delved into the
woes of the J-15. "Love for the fourth-generation J-15 jet is seldom shown in
Chinese circles," said the Russian news site. "The Asia Times noted that Chinese
media has disparaged the plane in numerous ways, including referring to it as a
'flopping fish' for its inability to operate effectively from the Chinese
carriers, which launch fixed-wing aircraft under their own power from an
inclined ramp on the bow of the ship. The J-15's engines and heavy weight
severely limit its ability to operate effectively: at 17.5 tons empty weight, it
tops the scales for carrier-based fighters. The US Navy's F-18 workhorse, by
comparison, is only 14.5 tons."

Many shoppers on eBay and Amazon can attest to what happens when you buy
"unlicensed" products, though one can ask how many of these problems began with
the original Russian design. In any event, so many J-15s have crashed and burned
that China is developing a new carrier jet, the J-31.



*