Copying Galore!

[pmulcahy11b]

Here's an interesting page:
https://news.usni.org/2015/10/27/chi...cloned-weapons

Lots of reverse engineering going on there!

[Vespers War]

A lot of these are straight copycats, but some have more complicated backgrounds.

I'm a bit torn on the FC-31 (it's not a J-type because it wasn't financed by the PLA). From a lot of angles, it does visually resemble the JSF, but it's non-STOVL and has two engines, not one, which to my eyes makes it more similar to the KAI KF-X. Since the FC-31 predates the KF-X, it's most probable that both are loosely based on JSF-like requirements and independently developed the two-engine adaptation.

For the Hongdu L-15, Yakovlev was reported as one of their design partners, so a resemblance to the Yak-130 shouldn't be surprising.

The J-11 story is fairly well reported in the story but misrepresented by the photo caption. The J-11A is a license-built SU-27SK with the Russian avionics replaced by Chinese avionics. The J-11B and later models are completely Chinese-produced, with domestic engines and a greater use of composites in the airframe and much kvetching from the Russians because China only built 52% of what they had licensed.

The Shaanxi Y-9 is a stretched Y-8, which was developed from the An-12, which China licensed before the Soviets halted technical assistance during the Sino-Soviet split, so it's a development of a reverse-engineering of a licensed aircraft.

The EQ2050 is built on imported AM General Hummer H1 chassis, so it's less of a copy and more of a local adaptation.

The CQ is a bit hilarious because it's an M-16 clone that has been knocked off by Iran, Sudan, and the Philippines. The copy of the M-4 is more properly the CQ Type A. Despite the article stating that the Chinese military is built on clones, CQs are (as far as I can find) not used by the PLA. They're primarily for export, with a handful used by Chinese SWAT units.